Strange Beginnings
by Anna Brooks
Summary: Sequel to A New Power. The Cullen's begin a new life in New York. How will they react when confronted by a group of delusional humans who believe themselves to be vampires? There's more to these people than meets the eye...Shenanigans guaranteed.
1. New York New York

Chapter 1: Nessie POV

* * *

><p>'Nessie, wake up. You're don't wanna be late on your first day young lady!'<p>

The voice broke through my dream and I groaned in frustration; even though I only needed a few hours of sleep every night, I still didn't like waking up. Preferring to stay in my own dream world than face school…argh school. Not that I wasn't excited, which I was, but I didn't like being the centre of attention and it meant that I would have to pretend not to hear all the whispers of my new classmates as I entered every class. Plus it meant that I would have to be away from Jake for a good part of the day.

Jake…

What could I say about Jake? He was perfect. There was no other way to describe him in my mind, I had no doubt that my dad had probably seen that my feelings had taken a turn in the last six months and I really did feel bad that he had to listen to my teenage hormones when I thought about him. I couldn't help it though; he was my wolf…my imprint. I knew I loved him and I knew he loved me, I just didn't know if he loved me in the same way that I saw him now; he had known me since I was born and had always been my best friend. I had no idea when or even _if_ he would ever stop seeing me as the little girl he used to play hide and seek with and start seeing me as the woman that I became on my seventh birthday last year. He certainly hadn't shown any signs of seeing me in _that_ way yet.

It was frustrating to say the least.

'Renesmee Carlie Cullen, get up now!' my mom projected in my mind.

Yeah, she could do that now apparently; after trying to get a grip on being able to move her shield away from her mind, she had gotten pretty frustrated with the effort one day and mentally yelled at my dad whilst her shield was up, realising a second later that everyone in the house had been able to hear her. We couldn't figure out exactly why she could do it but my granddad had come up with some theories about how; maybe because her shield was so flexible she was able to put it in people's heads, essentially sending her thoughts with it. We couldn't be sure, though it got annoying on mornings like this.

'I'm up mom, don't get your knickers in a twist' I grumbled, climbing out of bed and heading into my bathroom.

I had a lightning fast shower and brushed through my hair as I dried it, letting out annoyed grunts when the brush kept getting caught in the tangles I always got after washing it. I may be half vampire but my hair was all human, where my mom and aunts could run for miles and still look like they just stepped out of a hair salon, I was stuck with actually having to maintain my curls. Though it was easier than some girls had it, I didn't have to use any foul smelling hair products at least, I just had to make sure that I brushed it out properly in the mornings.

My bronze hair had _finally_ darkened, I had been worried a couple of years ago that I would be stuck with the horrible coppery shade of bronze that I had gotten form my dad, it looked fine on him but I never liked it on myself, I much preferred my brothers hair colour which was a dark chocolate brown just like my moms, though he had my dad's human eyes apparently which were a vivid green that made him unfortunately a hit with the ladies…not that he cared much. I was just pleased when my hair darkened gradually the last couple of years into a deeper bronze that was more like a chestnut brown with bronze highlights.

I yawned as the last vestiges of sleep wore off me and I flipped through my closet for something to wear. I didn't want to look too out there on my first time going to high school so I decided to skip past most of what my Aunt Alice had _helpfully_ placed to one side and settled on a deep red top that draped off one shoulder and a pair of dark skinny jeans. I knew Alice would probably rather lock me up than let me outside like in my black military boots but I didn't much care. I wanted to be comfortable and the treacherous high heels that she had set out for me made me afraid I would end up falling flat on my face, not that I was clumsy but I had heard stories of how bad my mom had been when she was human and I didn't trust myself to not get a sudden attack from her accident prone genes one day. It hadn't happened yet but I had a feeling that it would one day, and I didn't want that to be on the same day as when people would already be staring at me. I grabbed my jacket and back pack and sighed, heading downstairs where I could hear my mom and brother talking in the kitchen.

We didn't live with the rest of the family; my grandparents thought it would be nice for my mom and dad to have some privacy for the first time in eight years and it didn't help that the house was a little crowded for a while before Anthony and Paige moved out. They lived nearby to us still, in an apartment in the main city while we lived on the outskirts, a few miles from the rest of the Cullens. Eric and Katlyn still live nearby as well with their mates; they all share a house although apparently it drives them insane sometimes despite the sound proofing that my cousin Elsie had designed for them.

'Hey mom, hey Jay' I called, coming into the kitchen and placing my bag on one of the stools just as my mom slid plate of bacon and eggs in front of me. I felt my stomach growl slightly in excitement and tried to ignore the snigger from my brother who didn't have the same bodily functions.

'Jarrett, don't make fun of your sister' my dad chuckled, walking in and kissing mom as me and Jay both made gagging sounds.

'Not my fault dad, it's her stomach that's making the noise not me' he grinned, feigning hurt when I punched him in the arm before taking a bite out of my bacon.

'Dad….' I trailed off; fluttering my eyelashes at him in a way that I hoped would soften him up.

'No, I don't want you riding that to school. You can go in your brother's car' he responded to my thoughts, crossing his arms across his chest.

'But you know I can't be hurt and I'll be careful anyway, I just don't want to draw too much attention and Jay's Porsche kind of sticks out like a sore thumb' I moaned, begging him to understand, 'besides, he's going to be picking up Zack, Maddy and Finn so there might not be enough room for me with all their bags and Elsie's taking her baby so why can't I?' I reasoned, knowing that my argument had few flaws. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed as I tried to stop myself from smiling in triumph.

'Fine, but I don't see how a motorbike is going to cause any less attention than your brother's car' he chuckled, rolling his eyes.

'Easy…it's smaller so I'm hoping they won't notice it' I smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek before hugging mom goodbye and grabbing my backpack.

'Don't forget your helmet, even if you think you don't need it' my mom called after me as Jay and I reached the door, I grumbled and rolled my eyes, snatching the black helmet from the hallway before I closed the door.

There she was…my beauty. A sleek black beast of a machine that made me giddy every time I got to ride her, probably the best birthday present I had ever gotten. My Kawasaki Ninja was my pride and joy, especially since Elsie had fitted it with upgrades that the world market wouldn't even think of for another fifty years, making it supremely fast and smooth with the most superb control imaginable as I weaved down the road towards the Cullen house.

'Hey Ness' Elsie called as she skipped down the steps towards me, donning her jacket as I pulled up approached the drive way.

'Hey Elsie, you ready to be stared at all day?' I asked and she giggled as she climbed onto her red Ducati.

'Oh stop worrying Ness; you'll give yourself a headache. Zack, Finn, Maddy…Jay's here!' she yelled as my brother pulled up and stuck his head out the window, I rolled my eyes at him, he looked so much like a curious dog when he did that; Maddy appeared a second later in the passenger seat of Jay's car, laughing when he almost jumped out of the window.

'Don't do that Mad, you know I hate it' he moaned but she just laughed at him and poked him in the stomach.

'I just love making you jump my little jay bird' she sang as Finn walked out of the house, rolling his eyes in a parental way. He looked so much like Carlisle when he did that it was scary, even though he had Esme's caramel coloured hair, his eyes were apparently the same blue as his dad's had been as a human though.

'I'm coming already!' I heard Zack yell as he barrelled out the door, hastily pulling on his backpack as he hopped around and tried to tie up his shoe. He had definitely taken after his dad, only slightly shorter than him by about an inch and almost as muscly, though he didn't look as intimidating as some people thought Emmett looked; he looked if anything like a large nerdy teddy bear, though it didn't stop the girls from trying to chase after him. Elsie on the other hand looked the spitting image of my aunt Rose, her long golden hair ran in soft waves down her back and she resembled a model with her creamy skin and violet eyes, though the somewhat haughty air that Rose gave off was absent in my cousin, she was always smiling about something and a tomboy down to the core…well except for when it came to clothes that is.

We rushed off to school, already a little late thanks to Zack but still taking the time to try and race each other on the way. I won of course, but then again I always did so it wasn't much of a surprise. We pulled into the parking lot of Bennett High school, one of the high schools in Buffalo that was close enough to the university so that my mom and dad felt we were in a safe range, it was slightly paranoid really, though we had been through some troubles before we hadn't had any problems for the last seven years but they still insisted on us going to school close to where uncle Jasper was teaching history at the University of Buffalo, just in case something went wrong.

I parked my bike in the same spot as Elsie, taking off my helmet and trying to ignore the looks from the students heading up towards their morning classes, oh great, we were going to be late and that meant walking into class when everyone was already there. I inwardly cringed at the idea of the attention and rolled my eyes at Elsie's anticipatory grin.

'I can't believe we finally get to go to school' Maddy squealed, hopping up and down in a manner similar to her mother as she jumped on Elsie's back. She was almost as short as Aunt Alice, her pixie like face eerily similar to her mother's own perfect features as her brown eyes danced with excitement. She had her long brown hair flowing down her back as she checked her outfit, making sure her navy sweater dress hadn't been rumpled in the car…typical Alice/Maddy clothing obsession I thought as I watched her carefully checking over her ankle boots, ensuring no mud had managed to ruin them.

'Come on guys, we're already late as it is and we need to get to reception' I moaned, yanking Maddy along towards the main doors as I felt the weight of what felt like a thousand eyes on the back of my neck.

'You do realise everyone is thinking about us right?' Jay whispered, tapping his temple as he appeared to mull over the thoughts in the area. His gift was quite useful sometimes, though I don't think I could ever deal with the stress of hearing people's private thoughts; it was bad enough hearing their whispers when they thought we couldn't hear them, let alone having to hear what they wouldn't even dare to say out loud. He had gotten my dad's mind reading but slightly different, he didn't have the range that my dad did, but he did however have the ability to scan memories if he was within a certain distance from his target, somewhat like what the leader of the Volturi had been able to do except without all the stupid handholding.

'Excuse me ma'am' I said, trying to get the attention of the middle aged woman who appeared to be engrossed in some form of romance novel behind the reception desk, I focused on the page she was on and sure enough, the word 'penis' turned up at least seven times. I cleared my throat again and this time she appeared to hear me, sighing and placing her book face down before turning to face us. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in our appearance and I heard her heartbeat stutter when her gaze landed on Zack, Finn and Jay, I mental groaned and noticed Jay trying to look anywhere else but at the receptionist, obviously her thoughts were quite dirty.

'Oh…umm…yes young lady, how can I help you?' she asked, prying her gaze away from the boys and finally turning her attention to me.

'I'm Renesmee Cullen and these are my cousins Zack and Elsie Hale and Maddy and Finn Cullen' I explained, gesturing to each of them as they gave a little wave in greeting, 'this is our first day and we were told that we needed to come down to reception' I explained and she nodded in understanding.

'Oh I remember now, Sheila mentioned something about some new students coming in today' she murmured to herself as she flipped through the papers in her desk draw, pulling out a small pile and finding the one's pertaining to us. 'Yes here we go dear, your schedules, a campus map, student handbook and I'll need you all to get this slip signed by each of your teachers before bringing it back here at the end of the school day. If you need any help please feel free to come and ask me, my name is Ms Burrows and I'm usually here all day. Now classes have already started but I'm sure the teachers will understand you being slightly late. Is there anything else you need?' she asked and I shook my head, gathering up the papers and bidding her farewell, I had a feeling she was anxious to get back to her novel, especially now that she had my cousins and brother to spur on the fantasy…ew.

We were all starting out as juniors for our first time through high school, our parents had felt that seeing as Eric could make us appear to be aging slightly that we didn't need to start out so young to blend in, though we would still be moving every ten years or so. Because we were all in the same year we would also probably have similar schedules and sure enough I had English with Zack, Biology with Maddy and Jay, Spanish with Finn, P.E with Elsie and Jay and Algebra with Zack. The only class I had by myself was music but I preferred it that way, I was really the only one of them with a true passion for playing instruments and had spent the last several years learning everything about piano, guitar, flute, violin and even drums; I could play some other instruments but those were the only ones I was really talented with, I felt like I was in my own little world when I played my music.

I sighed and headed off to English with Zack, I knew this class would be good because both Zack and I really enjoyed reading, though I didn't share my mother's obsession with _Wuthuring Heights_, frankly I found Catherine and Heathcliff to be winey and annoying idiots and had no idea what on earth was so great about the book but I still enjoyed some others, like all of Austen and I had a weak spot for satire such as Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. Thankfully we were only a few minutes late so the class hadn't settled down yet, the teacher was still sorting through his papers as he sat at his desk and ignored the chatting students.

'Um, excuse me Mr…Lewis' I spoke up, reading his name plate while painfully aware that the talk had died down as all eyes focused on me and Zack. The teacher looked up and seemed shocked by our appearance, clearing his throat and adjusting the glasses that were slipping down his nose due to the small sheen of sweat that had broken out over his skin.

'Yes?' he asked, trying not to gawk at the size of Zack.

'We're new here and were told that you needed to sign these' I explained, handing him mine and Zack's slips that the teachers were to sign. He nodded in understanding and signed both sheets, passing them back to us before clearing his throat to get the attention of the class.

'Students, this is Renesmee-' he began before I cut him off without thinking.

'Nessie, just Nessie' I said then realised what I had done as I felt the heat begin to flood my cheeks. Damn it mom, why did I have to inherit this particular trait.

'Okay, _Nessie_ Cullen and Zachary Hale' he spoke to the class who looked at us curiously, 'they're new to the school so please be nice to them. Nessie, Zachary, please feel free to take those two empty seats near the back' I nodded and hurried over to the back with Zack following behind, sliding into the seat next to a slim red haired girl with freckles who glanced at us shyly as Zack took a seat next to me as I tried to ignore the feeling of eyes following my every movement.

'Hello' I whispered to the girl, she seemed nice and I doubted she would make the first move and introduce herself.

'H-hi' she mumbled, taking my hand when I offered it to her and blushing slightly, 'I'm Evelyn, it's a bit of a mouthful so you can call me Eve' she smiled shakily and I gave her a reassuring grin.

'Nessie' I replied and gestured over to Zach, 'and that's my cousin Zack' I explained and her eyes widened slightly, the red in her cheeks intensifying as she looked at Zack's muscles, she nodded silently before turning back to the front of the class in time for the teacher to begin his lecture.

Classes passed by pretty uneventfully in the morning, only one of the teachers made me stand up and actually fully introduce myself but thankfully Maddy's bubbly excitement overshadowed my stuttered introduction and I doubted anyone paid much attention to me. Before long it was time for lunch and I felt a welcome relief at the idea of being able to sit with my family in relative peace and eat some food, depending on what they had here. I entered the cafeteria with Maddy, letting my eyes roam across the room before they settled on Elsie, Zack and Jay who had claimed a table in the corner of the lunch room. Maddy lined up with my while I got some food, there wasn't much that looked appetising to me so I just grabbed a slice of pizza and an orange soda before heading towards where the others were waiting.

'Soooo Ness, how was your morning?' Elsie asked, wrinkling her nose as I bit into the pizza, I licked my lips exaggeratedly and hummed in contentment while I chewed, silently laughing at her disgusted expression.

'It was fine, nothing eventful happened really' I answered her and took a sip of my soda to wash down the pizza, it was a little cold and not at all that tasty.

'Did you make any friends?' she asked, playing with the salad she had bought to keep up appearances.

'I met a couple of people; that Eve girl with the red hair and someone named Samantha but no one really bothered me, what about you?' I asked and she laughed.

'The _popular crowd_ have already tried to recruit me' she giggled and raised her eyebrow, 'I think they talked to me because they wanted to jump on Jay's disco stick but he wouldn't really talk to them so they tried to cosy up to me' she chuckled and I cringed at her wording.

'Elsie jeez that's my brother!' I moaned which just made her laugh even harder. 'So who's the queen bee?' I asked, glancing around the cafeteria and noticing several people trying to look not so subtly in our direction.

'Oh you mean the bitch?' she asked and I nodded, we'd been made aware by our aunts that there was apparently always that one girl who tried to make it her mission to push everyone else down and fancied themselves the hottest thing on campus, apparently it was a girl named Lauren Mallory back when they were in Forks and I wondered who it could be here.

'Without a doubt Tiffany Evans judging by the thoughts I've been hearing around the school. Half of the girls are afraid of her while the others want to be friends with her and the boys have all either already slept with or want to sleep with her…apart from that guy, he's gay' Jay answered for her, raising his eyebrow. 'If you ask me I'd rather stick my…_disco stick,_ as Elsie called it, in battery acid' he shrugged and I couldn't control the laughter that burst out a little too loudly, quickly placing my hand over my mouth as I noticed some people's heads snapped up in my direction.

'_Who are they, they're new right?'_ I heard some guy ask and had to control myself not to show that I could hear them.

'_Yeah they moved here from Washington apparently, that's why they're so pale' _his friend answered and chuckled slightly, _'I tell you what I would love to get my hands on blondie and-'_

'Okay I would like to unsubscribe to whatever that creep is suggesting' Elsie huffed rolling her eyes and getting up with her untouched salad, come on guys, let's get our P.E. on and maybe we could show these kids a thing or two' she chuckled, waiting for me and Jay to follow her.

'See you later' I called to Maddy and Zack who were busy discussing some tv show they were both really into, something about vampires I think, which I found quite strange considering their heritage.

We reached the gym just a second before the bell rang, jogging up to the teacher to have our papers signed before the coach sent us off to go get changed and me and Elsie headed off towards the changing rooms on the right hand side of the gym. I couldn't help but feel a bit weird when we entered the large room, it was pretty obvious that we were expected to just change our clothes in front of everybody and even though I knew I had a nice body I hadn't ever really done that before. I looked over Elsie and she just shrugged, pulling off her top and grabbing the white t shirt that the coach had given her. I sighed and glanced around before quickly stripping out of my clothes and grabbing the blue shorts and pulling them over my legs.

'Well look what we have here, fresh meat' a whiney voice rang out from behind me and I turned around, pulling the t-shirt down over my stomach and raising my eyebrow.

The girl in front of me was about the same height as Elsie, except her blonde hair wasn't a beautiful natural gold like my cousin's, instead hers was streaked with different tones of platinum and yellowy gold, making it look cheap and causing the unbelievable amount of obviously fake tan she wore to look more orange than seemed healthy. She wasn't the prettiest of people, her sneer seemed to be glued in place and she obviously got most of her boyfriends because of her body, which itself wasn't that nice either, just well enhanced with clever underwear. I immediately disliked her, this must be Tiffany.

'And what's your problem?' Elsie asked, narrowing her eyes at Tiffany and coming to stand next to me.

'Oh nothing much, just wondering what a couple of losers are doing here?' she sighed, looking back at her _posse_ as they laughed at her less than witty comment.

'Whatever, I can't be assed with bitches like you, come on Ness…Jay will be waiting' she said, rolling her eyes and pulling me outside to the gym, the girls just stood there, looking confused at the fact that someone had just walked away from them and I chuckled at their bewildered expressions before following Elsie out the changing room door to where Jay was waiting fiddling with his laces.

'Did you two nearly get in a cat fight…already?' he grinned, grunting when Elsie elbowed him in the stomach before she laughed anyway.

'You were right about that Tiffany girl if it's the same one you've been _hearing_ about' I smiled and he rolled his eyes.

'I just don't think I'll ever get women, you're all so bloody competitive and mean, it doesn't make sense' he grumbled, receiving another slap on the arm from Elsie and then one from me. He laughed and held his hands up in surrender, trying to give the puppy dog eyes.

'Oh whatever bro, I've seen how you get when you play call of duty with uncle Jaz, what is it, six…seven controllers that we've had to replace so far?' I grinned and he sighed in defeat just as the coach blew her whistle and called everyone to stand in front of her.

'Right! It's that time of year again I'm afraid' she yelled and I heard a chorus of groans ripple out from the class, 'I know I know but for those of who are new to the school I'll explain anyway' she said, glancing at us. 'At the beginning of every year we have physical aptitude tests that will measure your strengths and weaknesses so that you can be given activities to improve your fitness throughout the year. We take health very seriously in this school so I want you all to try your best okay?' she finished and everyone begrudgingly nodded, I noticed that Tiffany was flickering between sending daggers at me and Elsie and lustful glances at my brother, I rolled my eyes and nudged Elsie who chuckled.

We were herded outside to the track field where apparently we would be asked to run four laps and be timed, I was more than happy to go for a leisurely jog, I simply loved to run, though I would have to control myself to keep to a relatively human pace; couldn't go around being all vampire on everyone could I? I looked around at the other people pacing around the track and noticed a set of bleachers to the left of the field; there on top of them were a group of very…strange looking people.

_Hey Jay_ I thought, _see if you can get a read on the emos on the bleachers_. I gestured with my head over at the group of pale and arrogant looking students, oddly similar to how I imagined the Cullens could look to outsiders except that I could smell and hear that they were human. Something was off though, the way they held themselves; so separate but not in the same way that the usual outcasts did. It was if they were keeping a secret…a _real_ secret from the world but instead of trying to hide it by blending in they seemed content to just have the unknown out in the open for all to see.

'I can't get a read off them Ness' he murmured, I looked at him confusedly for a second. I could maybe understand one person withstanding mind reading, like my mom with dad, but six at the same time?

'I don't know what it is' he whispered, 'it's like I'm getting vague images, the feeling of arrogance, superiority and the slight hint of fear from one of them but it's like they're being blocked' he explained, his brow furrowed in concentration.

'You mean like a shield?' I whispered back.

'No, I've felt shields before…this is more like they aren't their thoughts really, more like impressions of their personalities that are almost forgotten, like they have no mind of their own you know. Like Alice's memories of her human life, they're just…warped and indistinct' he murmured thoughtfully. I considered for a second, deciding recon would be the best option. I spotted the shy girl Eve from my English class a few feet away from me, kicking a clump of grass absent mindedly as she appeared to be in her own world. I went over to her and cleared my throat, shocking her slightly.

'Oh…hello again Nessie' she smiled weakly, confusion in her eyes, she probably wasn't used to people making an effort to talk to her. I don't know why though, she seemed nice enough.

'I was just wondering, umm…do you know who the kids on the bleachers are?' I whispered and her eyes widened slightly before she let out a small scoff and rolled her eyes.

'Yeah I know who they are…' she trailed off and I gestured for her to continue, she sighed and smiled sadly, glancing over at the people in question.

'They're vampires'.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So first chapter…like it? Here's some info: Bella and Edward's son Jarret was conceived the same way that Elsie and Zack were. He and Carlisle and Esme's son Finn were born in the seven/eight years since **_**A New Power**_**. (My first fan fiction, read it if you like)**

**Jarrett is a combination of Jasper and Emmett; it also comes from the name 'Jared' which means 'down to earth' which I think describes him nicely because he is funny and kind and not nearly as dramatic or serious as Edward. His full name is Jarrett Edward Cullen.**

**So this is a teaser, I won't be able to update until I have written a good majority of the story, so far I have about eight chapters out of the way so it shouldn't be long before I start to update frequently. But for now, I thought it would be nice to give you all a taste of the story. Review please :D**


	2. Vampires?

Chapter 2: Jay POV

* * *

><p>Dad was right; teenagers were shockingly annoying to listen to. I'd heard them before when I'd been dragged out shopping with Aunt Alice or passed by them on the street but never more than just passing thoughts and brief glimpses. Today I had spent almost five hours listening to nothing but a constant dribble about clothes and boys and girls and oooh great I can't believe that so and so got voted off the programme.<p>

I literally wanted to just shake these people and scream 'get a life'.

_Hey Jay_, _see if you can get a read on the emos on the bleachers_. My sister thought and I mentally rolled my eyes, readying myself for whatever idiotic brain waves I would be subjected to and focused my intention on the people she was gesturing to. They looked…weird to say the least; pale, somewhat like us accept theirs was more like the fake pale that came with purposefully keeping out of the sun and wearing light make-up, in fact I could see the faint traces of powder on some of their faces and knew it wasn't real. There were six of them, four guys and two girls; they weren't that good looking but they sort of gave off this air of supremacy, as if they thought they were unique in a world of normal people. I didn't like the look of them.

I tried to get a grip on their mental voices but for some reason they weren't there. Well they were there but just…muffled, like they were fading away and all I could read was flashes of images and feeling from them. The tallest guy who had blonde hair and brown eyes just gave off a constant buzz of malice and excitement that unnerved me somewhat so I tried the rest of them, the other three boys were similar in appearance, shorter, two brunettes and one with ash coloured hair but they were the same…malice and flickers of arrogance.

One of the girls was pretty much the same, she was tall with long black hair and all I could read was an intense disdain towards her classmates and the general feeling of self-importance. But the last one, a small and plain girl with curly brown hair and hazel eyes just looked…scared. I pushed past the buzzing and tried with all my power to see what was happening in her head, finally breaking through. I didn't feel any malice or arrogance like the rest of them.

_Help...do this anymore….used to be….why they still….I don't….no…blood….disgusting….hate….trapped._

That was all I could get, a jumble of words which frankly made no sense to me, all with a constant overtone of fear and the feeling of being trapped. All of their thoughts reminded me of trying to catch water with a sieve, they just kept slipping away. It was like their minds were disappearing as I tried to read them.

'I can't get a read off them Ness' I murmured, she was confused but I just shrugged. 'I don't know what it is' I whispered, 'it's like I'm getting vague images, the feeling of arrogance, superiority and the slight hint of fear from one of them but it's like they're being blocked' I explained, still trying to get a complete read but failing.

'You mean like a shield?' she whispered back.

'No, I've felt shields before…this is more like they aren't their thoughts really, more like impressions of their personalities that are almost forgotten, like they have no mind of their own you know. Like Alice's memories of her human life, they're just…warped and indistinct' I explained, frustrated now. I'd have to talk to Carlisle and my dad; perhaps they would know what was wrong with me.

She looked pensive for a second and glanced over at the girl she had met in her English class, from her memory she seemed to be a shy but nice person and I could see in the girl…Eve's mind that she felt lonely but was a good person, she was thinking about her mom in the hospital and wondering whether she should skip last period to go visit her. When Nessie got her attention she was slightly surprised and confused.

_Why is she talking to me, they're all really good looking and prime candidates for the popular crowd. Why is she even bothering talking to someone like me, doesn't she know that I'm not anybody. _I felt bad for her; I could immediately tell that she was a kind and interesting person, unsure of herself but still good. Did she really think that we would be interested in hanging out with that bitch Tiffany and her minions, I could hear her from all the way across the field and she was _still_ stuck in some disgusting fantasy of me and her in a hot tub. Ew.

'Oh…hello again Nessie' she smiled weakly, my sister noticed the confusion and had come to the same conclusion as me, the people in this school were shallow and ignored her, just because she was shy. She wasn't even bad looking, in fact I found her quite beautiful; she had red hair that some people thought was a bad thing but I thought it was much nicer than the bleach blondes around the school, it was like cinnamon, honey and fire all together. And her freckles I found to be cute, they spattered lightly over her alabaster skin and under her stormy blue eyes. Oh man, I sounded just as bad as some of the hormonal jocks around here, I decided to stop staring and actually listen to the conversation.

'I was just wondering Eve, umm…do you know who the kids on the bleachers are?' Nessie whispered and her blue eyes widened slightly before she let out a small scoff and rolled her eyes. _Knew it, she's not interested in talking to me. Great job Eve, another person who doesn't want to be your friend; I suppose I can understand why she's curious about Lisa and the others. I miss Lisa, I hate that she got dragged into their group but there isn't anything I can do. _It appeared that she had been best friends with the short, curly haired girl of the group; the one who I had almost been able to read. This Lisa girl had been her only friend but she abandoned Eve for a position in their group, I wondered if that was why she felt trapped…maybe she regretted it.

'Yeah I know who they are…' she trailed off and Nessie gestured for her to continue, she sighed and smiled slightly, glancing over at her old friend with a sad expression. I was almost caught up in the sadness, wanted to run over to her and comfort her when the next two words caused me to freeze.

'They're vampires'.

What the hell? I felt Nessie's similar reaction; her already fast heartbeat turning into a frantic hum within her chest and I felt the waves of panic rolling off her; I looked back over to the group suspiciously. Heartbeats, check. Pulse, check. Blood, check. Body warmth, check. Smell, check. Human slowness, check. Nope they were humans, no illusion or trick of the mind. I looked back over at Nessie and saw her trying to gather her thoughts.

'Um, what do you mean _vampires_?' she asked, her voice barely audible. Eve laughed, it was a beautiful sound and it seemed to me that she rarely let it out in public, she blushed when she realised that she was laughing and cleared her throat. Elsie was now staring at me with her eyebrows raised so I continued pretending to stretch.

'Oh sorry Nessie, I just thought your expression was funny for a second, it was almost like you believed it' she chuckled, 'that's just what they tell people' she explained, rolling her eyes, 'they go around and never eat in front of anyone, though I once caught one of the guys eating a sandwich in underneath the stairs when he thought no one could see him. They put on this white make-up and don't talk to anyone. It's kind of sad really, I used to be best friends with the girl with curly hair, Lisa, but one of the guys took an interest in her and she stopped talking to me' she explained, trying to cover up the sadness in her voice. Nessie immediately calmed down and reached out to hug her, shocking Eve slightly.

'They sound like weirdo's, I was just curious because I wondered why they were allowed to sit around while the rest of us are forced into the torture of P.E.' she laughed and I could feel the happiness coming off Eve.

_She's so nice, does she really actually like me though? She probably just feels sorry for me._ She thought and I had to control the growl that rippled in my chest at the idea that everyone in this school was so cruel to her. Nessie seemed to guess that she was confused and unsure so she smiled at her again and laughed.

'Hey, why do you want to run next to me? I'm not very fast and don't really want to be stuck wheezing alone at the back so I'd love it if you could pretend to be as unfit as me and keep me company' she smiled, nudging Eve with her elbow. She smiled in response and chuckled, blushing slightly.

'Sure, that'd be awesome, one question though…why is Tiffany Evans staring at you?' she whispered and I heard Elsie laugh as we lined up on the track.

'Oh she sort of tried to bully me and my cousin in the changing room' Nessie chuckled and rolled her eyes.

'I told her where to shove though didn't I Ness?' Elsie laughed, jogging over to them. 'Hey I'm Elsie, Nessie's cousin. You must be Eve' she smiled, holding out her hand which Eve took shyly and shook.

_She actually told someone about me, and not in a gossipy way? Wow, this Elsie girl is gorgeous…good looks must run in the family. I saw her other cousin Zack in English and he was just as handsome, a little too muscly but he seemed nice enough, they're related to that Finn guy as well aren't they. I wonder if that guy over there is related to them. His eyes are unbelievable, oh god I think he just noticed I was staring like an idiot. Good one Eve, drool over the most beautiful guy you've ever seen, that will work. He'll probably end up dating Tiffany any day now; I saw her eyeing him earlier so it's only a matter of time. _

I felt like I was smiling like an idiot so I had to smooth my face out and pretend I couldn't hear her, she was right that Tiffany was eyeing me but I wouldn't ever go anywhere near her though. She was vapid and disgusting, I much preferred Eve's natural beauty; it was like she didn't even see it, the way she held herself seemed to me that no one had ever told her how stunning she was, she was only a few inches shorter than me and slim but with just the right amount of curves. I noticed that I was fantasising about her and mentally slapped myself as I went over to join them.

'Hey guys' I called, coming over to join them and trying not to stare at Eve who was blushing even more now. I was glad that the blood lust wasn't something that we'd inherited from our parents, my grandfather had been pleased as punch when he realised that we all had natural control over the thirst, you could stick a bleeding wound in front of us and we wouldn't even blink an eyelid. Blood was only a necessity that we got from animals, not a desire like with normal vampires. Elsie was grinning at me and flicking her eyes between me and Eve and I let out a small growl, she rolled her eyes but continued smiling, shooting me a wink.

Great, now my cousin knew that I was obsessed with a human girl, I'd never hear the end of it…even though I'd heard her fantasies about Simon Baker from _The Mentalist_, they were…disturbing to say the least. Not that our family would have a problem with any of us dating a human, what with the whole way my mom and dad met, but I still didn't like the idea of my family knowing my private feelings.

'Hey Jay, this is Eve, you running with us too?' Elsie asked, wriggling her eyebrows and I was suddenly annoyed we were in public so I couldn't punch her.

'Yeah if that's okay, I wanna stay as far away from Tiffany as possible…she's disturbing' I said and they nodded in understanding, obviously aware that I was referring to her thoughts. I noticed a small blush creep into Eve's creamy cheeks as her eyes widened slightly.

_Holy crap, did he really just call her disturbing. These people really are something else; most guys in the school practically drool all over Tiffany as soon as they meet her. Oh maybe he's gay, I hope not…not that I have a chance. He probably has some drop dead gorgeous girl waiting for him back wherever they moved from…_

Great, she thought I was gay or taken, I couldn't exactly put her straight because she hadn't said anything out loud, I mentally groaned…I never thought I would be so obsessed with what someone thought of me but here I was…_obsessing_, it was unnerving.

'I get what you mean, she tried to scare us in the changing room but I just called her a bitch and walked out' Elsie laughed, eyeing me pensively and smiling before she turned back to face the front. We began jogging gently, it was relatively easy to keep up a conversation because we could easily overtake everyone but we didn't want to draw attention to ourselves, besides, I wouldn't be able to talk to Eve if I was miles ahead.

'Hey Jay bird, have any girls caught your eye yet?' Nessie asked, I could see what she was doing; she was trying to get me to admit to her or at the very least let Eve know I was single. I rolled my eyes at her and huffed, thinking over my answer.

'Well, _most_ of the girls here are vain and stuck up. I much prefer natural girls' I grinned, noticing Eve blush slightly.

'Seriously? Like not even Tiffany and her…friends' Eve asked, slightly out of breath so I slowed down a bit, signalling for the others to pretend to be tired.

'Nah I told you, she's disturbing. I don't like blondes' I replied, groaning when Elsie slapped me on the back of the head, 'I mean fake blondes Els, geez…that hurt!' I grumbled, smiling though at the laughter coming from Eve. 'Besides, I don't see what everyone sees in her, she looks like a Barbie that's been dipped in fake tan' I chuckled which caused Eve to laugh breathlessly as we approached the end of our run.

'Nice bro' Nessie giggled, 'I would have described her as a female yeti without the fur but yours works as well' she grinned and I laughed as we came to a stop by the coach, she looked slightly wary of us as she signalled us over to give us our results. They were probably bad, I hadn't been paying attention to how other people did, we'd mainly kept our pace with Eve.

'I'm impressed with all of you' she smiled and I blinked in confusion, 'I expected as much from our track star Miss Jones here but it's good to see that we have more students who can keep up with her'. I hadn't noticed because we had been talking, but it did appear that we had been moving quite fast, for humans at least, when I spotted that a lot of the students were still only on their second lap.

'Yeah guys' Eve chuckled, 'I didn't say anything when we were running but even I was impressed that you managed to keep pace while having a conversation. What happened to you miss _I'm unfit, will you please run with me so I can talk to somebody_?' She raised her eyebrow at Nessie, I was glad to see the shyness was lifting off her as she got more comfortable around us. Nessie laughed and shrugged her shoulders as we walked back towards the gym.

'So maybe I lied' she chuckled and nudged Eve, 'I couldn't exactly say _hey you, be my friend_, so I thought up an excuse to talk' she explained and grinned at Eve who blushed slightly but smiled back at her. I could tell she liked my sister, but she was still unused to someone actually wanting to be friends with her. She seemed happy though as we went off to shower and change before the final class and I had to control myself not to look into her mind as she got changed, that would just be un-gentlemanly of me.

I headed off to my last class which was Trigonometry, I didn't have anyone from my family in this class and I wasn't particularly looking forward to spending it alone and stuck with the thoughts of the students and…god forbid…Tiffany. I was happy when I didn't smell the sickly sweet bleach scent of her as I entered the room, only the gentle aroma of cinnamon and citrus with a hint of honey as my eyes were pulled to the back of the room, I could see Eve rooting through her satchel, her amber hair falling across her face as she pulled out her books. I smiled at her and waved when she noticed me, my un-beating heart leapt when I saw a blush rise to her cheeks and she waved back in greeting. I handed the teacher my slip to sign and smiled when he told me to take a seat at the back next to Eve.

'Hey' I smiled, sitting down next her.

'Hey…Jay isn't it?' she asked and I nodded.

'It's short for Jarrett but I prefer Jay, though my sister and cousins like to call me Jay bird which is…weird' I chuckled and revelled in her soft laughter.

The teacher started on the class then, it wasn't anything I didn't know. Not only did my vampire mind allow me to easily understand the math but my dad had also home schooled me; I wondered what it would be like after decades of repeating the same classes…boring probably. We were instructed to work in pairs and go over the problems in the book and I found myself actually having fun working on stuff I already knew, instead being able to get to know little bits and pieces about Eve.

'So you moved here from Washington?' she asked as we moved onto the next question.

'Yeah, my parents both travel a lot for work and they couldn't really keep dragging me and my sister around the world so we moved here to live with my older sister Bella and her husband' I said, going over my cover story even though I didn't like lying to her.

'And your cousins, where do they come in?' she asked, twirling her pencil in her fingers.

'Oh well my uncle Carlisle moved here with his wife and her brother Finn to work at the hospital so his sister Rose and her husband decided that they wanted a change of scenery as well. Their friends Alice and jasper came up with them, all my cousins are adopted and they knew each other in foster care so we're all pretty close. Elsie and Zack are actually twins believe it or not and my aunt Rose adopted them, Maddy was adopted by Alice and her husband Jasper. Even though we're not actually related I still see them as my family' I explained, smiling when she nodded in understanding.

'That's really nice of your aunts and uncles to adopt them like that, I know that some people don't like to adopt teenagers but you all seem happy' she smiled.

'What about you? Have you lived in Buffalo all your life?' I asked, she didn't have the same accent as the rest of the kids so I had been wondering where she was originally from, I saw the answer in her mind before she spoke but let her explain anyway.

'No, actually I'm from Ohio but my mom got ill a few years ago and we had to move here to be closer to the specialists at the hospital' she sighed; I could see the love and worry in her mind when she thought of her mom.

'What about your dad?' I asked then wished I hadn't when I saw the answer.

'He's not around, he sends her money to help with the medical bills but apart from that he doesn't care' she growled, her blue eyes fiery with anger. 'It's his fault that she's like this, if he hadn't left her for some bimbo years ago then she would have been strong enough to fight off the cancer, but _no_…he had to go and break her heart!' she hissed before slumping.

'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked' I mumbled and she sighed, smiling sadly.

'No it's okay, it's a logical question and I don't mind explaining, I just get sort of angry when I think about him, sorry' she explained and leant on her hand.

'Well it's understandable, I'd probably angry as well' I reasoned as I filled out the answer to the final question. I really could understand, not that my dad would ever dream of leaving my mom, even an idiot could see he was insanely in love with her. But he had left her once, apparently for her own good and I knew that it had literally destroyed them both; I could understand how having your heart broken could weaken you like it had with Eve's mother.

I could see in Eve's mind that his leaving had hurt her a lot; she felt that he hadn't just left her mom but also decided that he didn't want her as a daughter when he signed over full custody. She loved her mother more than anything, but she would have liked her father to at least want to visit every now and again, he hadn't talked to her for five years, not even on her birthdays. She felt abandoned. How anyone could treat this wonderful girl like that confused me to no end, I already hated the man and I hadn't even met him.

The bell rung shortly after that and I walked out of class with Eve, she was trying to ignore that everyone was looking at us but was having a hard time stopping the blush from creeping to her cheeks.

'Just ignore them, they're only staring at me because I'm new' I whispered, knowing that it was only partially true. They were staring because they wondered why _the attractive new kid was bothering with that loser Eve_, or at least according to the thoughts of a particularly horrid girl that I recognised as one of Tiffany's loser friends. I covered my growl with a cough and walked out to the parking lot with Eve, listening to her thoughts which were now centred on her mom.

'Well it was nice talking to you Jay, but I have to walk to the hospital so I'll see you tomorrow?' she asked hopefully and I felt a pang of pain at seeing her go.

'Why don't I give you a lift to save you walking? I have to talk to my gr-uncle anyway and he works there so I could easily drop you off' I suggested, I really _did_ need to talk to my grandfather about the weirdness of my ability not working on those kids earlier but I was basically using it as an excuse to spend more time with her, plus I knew the hospital was a good few miles away and I didn't want her to walk that far.

'Oh..well…that'd be nice, what about your family though? I thought they got a lift with you?' she asked blushing and I mentally chastised myself.

_Don't worry Jay bird; I'll teleport Zack and Finn back from somewhere private. Have fun with your girlfriend. _Maddy sang in her mind and I mentally rolled my eyes at her childishness.

'Oh it's okay, Zack and Finn are walking home so they can explore the area and Maddy's going to see her dad at the university anyway so it won't be a problem' I smiled and released a breath I hadn't known I was holding when she nodded her head in acceptance.

We drove in relative silence towards the hospital, only exchanging occasional small talk about our lives as we drove down the streets. I could tell that she was anxious to see her mom and that her mind was elsewhere, it didn't bother me though, it was a comfortable silence and I just enjoyed the feeling of being close to her and smelling her cinnamon and citrus scent that filled the car. It only took a few minutes to drive up to the hospital and I parked and got out, running around to open the door for her just like my dad had taught me. She raised her eyebrow and laughed at the action so I explained my dad's gentlemanly ways as we entered the hospital.

'Gr-uncle Carlisle' I called as I spotted my granddad talking to an intern near the reception. He smiled and handed the man a clipboard before heading over to me.

'Hello Jay, and who is this?' he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

'This is Eve, she's here to visit her mom so I gave her a lift' I answered and I he chuckled.

_You're more like you dad than you know Jarrett, oh she must be Fiona's daughter…_he thought and I silently groaned at his thoughts, of course they were always comparing me to my dad.

'You must be Fiona Jones' daughter, you really do look just like her you know' he smiled and she gulped up at him, her eyes widening.

_Holy crap, this whole family could be models…not as handsome as Jay though, no Eve…stop thinking like that, he's only interested in you as a friend. He probably just talks to you because of his sister, or maybe he feels sorry for me or something, either way stop fantasising, you're here to see your mother. Mom… I hope she's okay, she looked a little better last time and I hope she doesn't get any worse again…_I frowned at her thoughts, upset that she thought so little of herself but unable to think of a way to show her how wrong she was without exposing my mind reading.

'Yes, are you one of her doctors Mr Cullen?' she asked, shaking herself out of her thoughts.

'Oh if you're a friend of my nephews then please call me Carlisle, yes I am one of her doctors, she's quite the sweetheart I must say. And very good at poker, I believe she has taken quite a bit of money from some of the nurses and myself' he chuckled and Eve shook her head sighing.

'I'm so sorry, I've tried telling her to take it easy on people but she never listens, is she doing okay?' she asked, worry taking over her eyes.

'She's been improving slightly each day but there's no way of knowing for sure until the next round of tests, why don't you come with me and I'll take you to her' he smiled and she nodded.

'I'll wait in your office Carlisle, there's something we need to talk about' I murmured so low that only he could hear.

_Okay, I must say she seems like a very sweet person. May I ask if you really are walking in your father's footsteps? She seems perfect for you _he thought and I rolled my eyes at him, he chuckled in response, a knowing look on his face.

'Well okay then Eve, I'll see you later Jay' he smiled and turned to leave.

'Thanks for the lift Jay, I'll see you in school tomorrow' she grinned and joined my father as I lifted my hand in a silent goodbye, sighing.

…I was whipped.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Like it? This story is more like a 'next generation' thing, we will be hearing off Bella soon but I want to introduce to you the new league of extraordinary Cullens. I find them fun to write about because they're quite funny in my mind. A lot more like you're average normal person (with vampire skills) than an old fashioned vampire. Review please :D**


	3. All About Eve

Chapter 3: Eve's POV

* * *

><p>I couldn't believe it. I was sitting in a car with an unbelievably hot guy who wasn't ignoring me…in fact; he was actually making an effort to talk to me. I thought at first that he may just feel sorry or perhaps was just being nice to me because I was sort of friends with his sister, but I wasn't quite sure; he seemed to be genuinely interested and sweet and it confused me. Nessie confused me as well, never before had someone willingly come out and made friends with me like that, the only reason why me and Lisa had been somewhat close was because we had both been outcasts, but she had dropped me like a bad habit as soon as those delusional kids had shown an interest in her.<p>

I felt bad for her, she'd been sucked up into a world of fantasy by her need to be wanted, as soon as that tall guy had noticed how her boobs had grown and how she had lost the puppy fat, he had started talking to her. I couldn't exactly blame her for her reaction, I knew how lonely it could be being on the outside looking in, besides I was used to being left behind.

But Nessie and Jay…they were different. Not in the way that Lisa's group, or the _Crypt Keepers_ as everyone called them, were different or how Tiffany and her cronies liked to think themselves better than everyone. No, they weren't like anyone in the school…they _were_ better than everyone else; they were prettier, smarter and radiated an aura that just seemed so alluring. They could very easily have their pick of anyone to be friends with, but they seemed to see past everyone's bullshit and all the false niceties. They were real people in a sea of posers and genuinely nice in way that was so unlike other people our age.

I had no idea why they wanted to be my friend though, but for some reason I could see that Nessie was being serious when she talked to me, she wasn't pretending to like me like some others had in my old school had once they found out about my mom. She wasn't trying to lure me into a false sense of friendship to hurt me like Tiffany had done once when I first got here from Ohio. No, even though I was clueless as to why, for some reason she actually liked me and wanted to be friends. And I believed her; even though I knew I should be suspicious about her and Jay's and even Elsie's friendliness, something just told me that they were being truthful. For the first time in what felt forever, I had friends.

Jay didn't even look at me with pity when I told him about my mom; he seemed to understand my anger at my dad and didn't treat me any differently. His eyes were actually caring and fond, which was a mystery to me, I'd be happy with him as a friend…even though I knew I already liked him so much more, but I wouldn't ruin the first proper friendship I had experienced in so long before it even started, besides, I knew I was just kidding myself when I thought I caught him looking at me in _that_ way.

Sometimes, when I looked into the emerald pools of his eyes, I could swear I saw something wonderful there. Fondness and warmth and secrets…so many secrets, I didn't question it though, I was happy just to be this close to him in his car. We pulled up to the hospital and he actually opened the door for me, it was so old fashioned and odd to see it performed by someone my age that I couldn't help my amusement.

'What was that about?' I asked, raising my eyebrow as we headed across the parking lot towards the hospital, he chuckled and smiled at me, an adorable grin that was slightly quirky as he bit his lip.

'Would you believe me if I told you that it was how I was raised?' he asked and I chuckled, 'No really, my mom thinks it's ridiculous too when me and my dad do it, she always complains that its anti-feminist but it's just the way my dad was raised and I sort of picked it up from him if that makes sense' he explained and I laughed as we entered the hospital, he spotted someone he knew…probably his uncle.

'Gr-uncle Carlisle' he called to a tall blonde doctor who was talking to an intern. I felt shock run through me when I saw him…man he was very handsome, and young too, he couldn't be a day over thirty, he looked a lot like the guy that I had seen in my science class…his brother in law Finn I believe, it really must run in the family…not nearly as attractive as Jay though, not that I had a chance.

'Hello Jay, and who is this?' he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

'This is Eve, she's here to visit her mom so I gave her a lift' he answered, they seemed to share a brief non-verbal conversation as they looked at each other, amusement was shining in the doctor's eyes as he chuckled at Jay.

'You must be Fiona Jone's daughter, you really do look just like her you know' he smiled and I gulped up at him, my eyes widening at his smile, I shook myself out of the daze and answered him.

'Yes, are you one of her doctors Mr Cullen?' I asked.

'Oh if you're a friend of my nephews then please call me Carlisle, and yes I am one of her doctors, she's quite the sweetheart I must say. And very good at poker, I believe she has taken quite a bit of money from some of the nurses and myself' he chuckled and I mentally groaned; my mom had always been fond of poker, she had a group back in Ohio and used to go to Vegas every year with them to play in the casinos.

'I'm so sorry, I've tried telling her to take it easy on people but she never listens, is she doing okay?' I asked; my exasperation and amusement at my mother being taken over by worry.

'She's been improving slightly each day but there's no way of knowing for sure until the next round of tests, why don't you come with me and I'll take you to her' he smiled and I nodded.

'Well okay then Eve, I'll see you later Jay' he smiled and turned to leave.

'Thanks for the lift Jay, I'll see you in school tomorrow' I said, trying not to sound too hopeful but failing to prevent my grin as I joined the doctor as we headed towards the elevator.

'So how are you finding Buffalo, your mother mentioned that you moved from Ohio about six months ago' he asked as he pressed the button for the fourth floor.

'Oh it's okay I guess, I don't really miss Ohio much and schools are pretty much the same everywhere' I answered and he chuckled.

'What about friends? I take it you've become acquainted with my nephew. He's a sweet boy and he seems to like you, he's a very good judge of character' he smiled and I blushed slightly at the compliment, this whole family was just so nice, it was pleasant change from what I was used to.

'Oh I didn't have any friends' I answered casually, seeing a flicker of sadness pass across his face. 'Oh don't worry, it's not like that' I rushed, 'it's just that people tend to be judgemental and most of them don't bother with the new kid' I explained and he nodded in understanding as we exited the elevator. 'But I like Nessie and Jay though, Elsie's great as well. It's nice to meet some genuinely friendly people and I'm just happy that they seemed to have taken a liking to me for whatever reason' I laughed as we walked down the corridor.

'Well your mom has been worried about you, don't tell her I told you that though, she'll kill me' he smiled and I chuckled, 'but just so you know, Nessie and Jay really are good judges of character and once they decide to be someone's friend they stick to it. They appear to have taken quite a shine towards you so I can tell that they'll be staying by your side, even when you don't want them to be' he laughed and I couldn't help the grin that came across my face as we entered the ward.

'Hey honey!' my mom smiled weakly as she fiddled with her head scarf, I held back my sadness at seeing her so pale and drawn, knowing that it was a good sign that she was even able to sit upright.

'Hi mom' I sighed, hugging her and being careful not to disrupt the tubes.

'Carlisle dear, thank you for bringing Eve to see me. How's Esme, did you thank her for the flowers?' she asked as Carlisle looked over her chart.

'Oh yes she was just pleased that she had someone to take them off her hands, Alice went slightly overboard while organising an event and we've been trying to get rid of all the bouquets' he smiled, closing the board. 'How are you feeling today, any change?' he asked, moving over to hold her wrist in his hand and counting off the beats.

'Oh a little queasy but that's to be expected with the chemo, nothing I haven't dealt with before. But surely your forgetting something young man…' she trailed off, raising her eyebrows and he laughed, pulling a small wad of cash out of his pocket and passing it to her with a wink.

'Don't tell the director about this Fiona, he frowns upon the doctors gambling with the patients' he chuckled and she rolled her eyes.

'Stuck up old todger, how else am I supposed to pay him for my treatment?' she laughed.

'Mom! Is that how you've been paying?' I gasped, raising my eyebrows at her, 'I thought Carlisle was joking when he told me you were bleeding the nurses dry'.

'I think that's Dr Cullen to you and they know what they're getting into' she answered, winking at Carlisle who chuckled.

'Oops, sorry Dr Cullen' I whispered and he sighed, rolling his eyes.

'I told you Eve, any friend of my nephew's is a friend of mine. Besides, Dr makes me feel so old' he smiled and I noticed my mom's eyes began to shine with questions about Jay. He noticed too and sighed, putting his pen back in his pocket after filling something out on the chart, 'I think I'll leave you two to a little mother daughter bonding, if you would like I could call my niece to get you a lift home later?' he asked and I shook my head.

'I'm fine walking, it's only a couple of minutes away so I'll be alright, besides…I've seen Nessie's bike and I don't really fancy dying any time soon' I explained and he chuckled before leaving. I turned to my mom and noticed she was grinning widely at me, I groaned and rolled my eyes, waiting for the questions.

'Sooo….his _nephew_ ehh?' she smirked, wriggling her eyebrows, 'is he your boyfriend? Is he as handsome as his uncle? Ohh how long have you known him? Who's Nessie? Is she a new friend? The kids at school aren't still giving you a hard time are they?' the questions flew out in a single breath and she was gasping by the time she was finished, I laughed and patted her hand.

'First of all mom, slow down, I'll answer your questions if you give me a chance' I said raising my eyebrow and daring her to interrupt, she smiled and sat back, waiting for me to continue.

'Okay so no, he is not my boyfriend' I answered and I could tell she heard the yearning in my voice but she didn't interrupt, 'he is more handsome than Carlisle and you shouldn't be thinking about a married man that way' I grinned and she just rolled her eyes, 'I met him today at school, him and his sister moved here with their cousins. Nessie is his sister and yes she's my friend. Yes the kids at school are still assholes but Nessie and Jay are different, their cousins are nice as well' I answered.

'Oh if they're anything like Carlisle and Esme then they are sure to be wonderful people, you know she visits me sometimes, her husband has only been my doctor for a couple of weeks but she still comes and brings me books and magazines. Such a caring person' she smiled and a tear rolled out of her eye.

'Oh mom, it'll be okay. You only need to stay here another week before you can come back home with me. Besides, grandma is driving me insane' I chuckled and she sighed.

'I know sweetie, I just get stressed knowing that I can't be with you at home. But just so you know, I'm happy that you've made some friends, I've been so worried about you since we moved, that Lisa girl was stupid to let a good person like you go' she smiled and stroked my cheek weakly.

'It's not really her fault mom, she had a chance to be a part of a group, I couldn't blame her for taking the opportunity' I sighed sadly and she raised her eyebrow.

'Don't be silly, she'll realise her mistake. But I'm glad that you've met some real people. I want you to be happy when I'm…you know' she trailed off and I felt the hot sting of tears in my eyes.

'No mom, that's not gonna happen. You'll get better, I promise…look you're sitting up and talking, that wasn't the case a few weeks ago so I can see that you're healing' I sobbed as I hugged her.

'I know honey, but even though I'm feeling stronger, the cancer is still spreading. I just want you to be prepared for it' she whispered as her weak arms rubbed circles in my back.

'I love you mom' I whispered as I released her, I could see her eye lids beginning to droop as she yawned. 'I'm going to go home now, you need to sleep' I said and she nodded sleepily, 'I'll call you tonight before bed and come see you after school again tomorrow okay?' I whispered and she mumbled her goodbye as she lay against the pillow. I knew it was hard for her to stay awake sometimes and she needed all the sleep she could get, so I kissed her on the forehead and pulled up her covers, leaving her arms over the blanket so that her tubes wouldn't get tangled.

I had a hard time keeping the tears from my eyes as I left the hospital, ignoring the concerned looks I got from nurses as I walked through the corridors and headed towards the stairs. Jay had left already because his car was gone and I felt sadness crush me at the idea of not seeing him until tomorrow, the grief I was feeling almost doubled as I stopped on a bench and finally let the tears free, curling my knees up to my chest as I tried to control the sobs that racked my body.

I don't know how long I was there, some people passed, others tried to talk to me but I ignored them all as I sobbed quietly in the parking lot, thoughts of my mom's inevitable death and my loneliness pressing down on my heart, it was so heavy that it was painful. I felt a small flicker of hope when I thought of Jay and Nessie, knowing that they cared for me, however strange that was for someone they barely knew. But I felt as if they were already connected to me in some inexplicable way.

'Sweetie, are you okay?' asked a sweet, angelic voice that urged me to look up and squint through my watery eyes. I had to stifle my gasp at the angel before me, she had pale and beautiful skin and flowing caramel hair that framed her heart shaped face. She seemed so warm and caring already and she'd only spoken a few words.

'I'm sorry ma'am; I'm just a bit…you know...' I sighed, another stream of tears trailing out of my eyes that I tried to wipe away. She rushed over and sat next to me, pulling me into a hug that was so warm despite her freezing skin.

'Its okay honey, want to talk about it? My name is Esme' she whispered, pulling back and smiling down at me. Esme…that name rang a bell. Oh, Esme! Dr Cullen's wife, it made sense now, my mom was right about her. She seemed so loving and sweet that I wasn't surprised that she was married to Carlisle. She looked down at my face and inspected me, wiping away the tears with her cold fingers.

'Oh you must be Fiona's young girl; she's told me all about you. Your pictures really don't do you justice' she smiled, stroking my cheek. I groaned and let out a sad laugh, only my mother would think that I wouldn't mind her showing the awkward photos she had of me to anyone who passed by.

'Yeah, I just went up to see her. She told me that you spend time with her sometimes, she's asleep now I'm afraid, I was just heading home' I explained and sighed, not that I didn't love my grandma but I wasn't lying when I said she was driving me insane, she would always question me relentlessly at every turn and was quite a judgemental woman. I couldn't really be comfortable around her, even though the irritation did help take my mind off the crushing sadness. The sadness didn't seem so strong when I was with this woman though; it was like her warmth made it wash away.

'I know dear, I just went up to give her a book I thought she might like to read and visit my husband' she sighed, rubbing my arm.

'Yeah I figured you were Carlisle's wife, my mom likes him. She hated all her other doctors, said they were idiots' I chuckled and she laughed, a beautiful soft sound that seemed to dance in the air.

'Would you like to come have dinner at my house tonight? I've already eaten but I love to cook and I still need to feed Nessie and her friend Jake. You seem like you need some cheering up and I can assure you that seeing Jacob eat would do just that. Besides, I've met your grandmother and she's quite frightening, I don't know if I could deal with her after visiting Fiona, sorry, that was out of line. I'm sure she's a lovely woman' she smiled and I laughed, shaking my head.

'Oh no don't apologise, she really is quite the handful. Are you sure I won't be imposing?' I asked and she chuckled.

'Of course not, Nessie already told me all about you and she's quite fond of you, besides, I've been waiting to have someone's opinion on a new pasta recipe I came up with and Jake doesn't give his taste buds time to appreciate flavour so won't really have an opinion, while Nessie will just say anything to make me happy so it'll be good to have an unbiased judgement' she smiled and I sighed, wiping my nose on my sleeve.

'Well, okay then Mrs Cullen, I'll just ring my grandma to tell her. Do you have a phone I could use?' I asked and she smiled, pulling out a cell phone.

'Here, and please, call me Esme' she said, placing the phone in my hand and I nodded before typing in the number I knew by heart.

'Hello, Jones residence' my grandma's steely voice came over the phone and I rolled my eyes, she still answered the phone like we were in the fifties.

'Hey grandma, it's Eve' I answered and I heard her sigh on the other end of the phone, I'd probably interrupted her dinner or bridge game or something.

'Yes dear? Do you need a lift home from the hospital? How is your mother?' she asked, some softness coming through when she mentioned my mom.

'She's fine grandma, just tired. She's sleeping right now. I was calling to ask if it's okay if I have dinner at a friend's house tonight' I said, smiling over at Esme.

'I thought you didn't have any friends?' she asked and I winced slightly, glad that Esme wouldn't have heard that. 'Oh I'm sorry Eve; I meant that I thought that silly girl Lisa was still acting like a child and ignoring you. I should really talk to her grandmother, she's in my bridge group…' she trailed off and I interrupted her.

'No please, that won't be necessary grandma' I rushed, wishing to avoid future embarrassment, 'I'll be having dinner with Dr Cullen's wife and her family, I met her niece and nephew today at school' I explained and heard her sigh on the other end of the phone.

'Oh yes, I remember Mrs Cullen, pleasant enough considering she's a doctor's wife' she murmured and I rolled my eyes. 'I don't see any problem with you going to their house for dinner, as long as you're home before nine thirty young lady' she said.

'Yes, I promise grandma, I'll see you later. Bye' I rushed and hung up the phone, passing it back to Esme who was chuckling at something, I wondered briefly if she could have heard my grandmother's comment about her but doubted it.

They didn't live that far from the hospital; we drove in companionable silence as we weaved through the streets and out of the main groups of houses and buildings. I was wondering whether she was going to drive me all the way to Canada or something before we came up to a secluded drive way that lead up to their house. It was very peaceful here; the sounds of the city were far in the distance and the only houses I could see was a small white, two story house that was separated by a pond. I wondered if that was Jay and Nessie's house, he mentioned that they lived close to but separate from the rest of the family with his older sister and her husband.

I couldn't help my shock when I saw the main house. It was huge! At least three stories high with grand windows and a wraparound porch that lead toward the garden. Dr Cullen must be making wads of cash to be able to afford a place like this; it was slightly intimidating but welcoming at the same time.

'You have a beautiful house Mrs Cullen' I whispered, still slightly in awe.

'Oh please, it's Esme remember, and thank you. Architecture is a hobby of mine' she smiled and I gulped.

'You designed this? Wow' I gushed and she laughed.

'Come on in, you'll get cold if we spend the night out here' she chuckled and gestured me towards the door, I followed behind her and had to stifle my gasp again as we entered the house. There was a gigantic living room with large and comfortable looking sofas in the centre, grouped around one of the largest televisions I had ever seen. I noticed the stairs to the left leading upstairs to countless rooms and an archway at the end of the room through which I could see a large and warm looking kitchen.

'Eve!' someone squealed and I was almost knocked over by the force of someone jumping onto me and wrapping their arms around me. I looked down and spotted a short woman with short dark hair and a pixie like face grinning at me.

'Um…hi?' I asked, confused.

'Oh sorry, I'm Alice' she laughed in a tinkling way, hugging me again with less force.

'Mom, you're scaring her' a girl about my age said, she was beautiful and I think I recalled seeing her in passing at school today, she had long dark brown hair with honey overtones and was only slightly taller than the woman who had attacked me, woah…this woman was a mother? She must have been like five when she gave birth. Oh, I remembered Jay explaining the intricacies of his family; Maddy was adopted like Elsie and Zack. It was still shocking though that someone so young would be kind enough to adopt someone who seemed to be only a few years younger than her.

'Shh Maddy, I just had a _feeling_ that we were going to be really good friends and I couldn't wait to meet her' she said, sticking her tongue out at Maddy who rolled her eyes.

'You know me?' I asked.

'Not yet, but I will' she chuckled in a mysterious manner, 'I just heard so much from Nessie and Jay about you and got a bit excited sorry' she smiled, 'you're so much prettier than I _visualised'_ she sighed, playing with a strand of my hair as I blushed at her strange compliment.

'I'm just going to get dinner started' Esme smiled, shooting Alice a look; 'Nessie and the others will be here soon'.

I tried to ignore the fact that my heart sped up when she said this, did the _others_ include Jay? I hoped so, though I didn't know if I wanted to see him. I had been crying for quite a while and was pretty sure that my face now resembled a disaster of red blotches and squinty eyes. I glanced at the perfection of Alice and Maddy, you would never know they weren't related by blood, they both had perfect features and similar mannerisms, though Alice's eyes were a startling deep gold and Maddy's were more of a hazel-brown. Alice appeared to get a glazed look over her face for a second before blinking a couple of times and skipping forward to grab my hand.

'Come upstairs with me?' she sang and I found it hard to resist her, I nodded silently as Maddy shot her mom a curious look, Alice just tapped her head and giggled as Maddy rolled her eyes and plopped herself on the sofa.

'Good luck Eve' she called, grinning and I felt confused. Good luck with what, what was this Alice woman going to do to me? I was suddenly quite nervous as she led me into one of the rooms, it was a creamy lavender room with a large four poster bed in the middle that had trails of gossamer falling down from the frame, I wondered briefly where she kept her clothes, there were no wardrobes that I could see but my question was answered when she led me through a door.

'Holy crap, this is your closet?' I gasped and she giggled. It was even bigger than the room we were just in, with rows and rows of clothes and an entire wall just for shoes in every colour and style imaginable. She opened a cupboard and pulled out a pair of grey jeans before closing her eyes for a second and smiling as she ran her fingers along the hundreds of tops she had lined up.

'Here we go, put these on' she said, passing me the clothes as I blinked at her in shock.

'Wh-bu-why? How do you even have clothes in my size?' I whispered as I read the label, it was exactly the right size and…designer. I gulped, looking up at her as she raised an eyebrow.

'No arguments…put them on young lady' she demanded and I began unbuttoning my jeans, I had a feeling this was the type of woman who always got her way. She crossed her arms at tapped her tiny foot as I quickly changed into the clothes, as if daring me to argue with her again. I looked in the mirror when I was finished and was pleasantly surprised with the result. The jeans made my legs look longer and slimmer whilst the sapphire blue top not only made my breasts seem rounder and stomach flatter but also made my eyes, which I usually thought of as a murky blue, seem brighter and more like a shimmering azure colour. Unfortunately my face was still red and blotchy from all the crying I did earlier and my eyes looked bloodshot. I sighed and tried to rub the patchiness off my face.

'Okay' Alice smiled whilst clapping happily, 'time for make-up' she sang and I was about to decline when she sent me another sharp glare.

I wisely shut my mouth and followed her mutely into the bathroom where she tied my hair back before instructing me to wash my face with a nice smelling cream, it surprised me when I saw that it turned the reddened patches back to the normal creamy pale skin and I looked more refreshed than before. She smiled and led me over to a large vanity mirror before sitting me down and proceeding to do my make-up and hair while insisting that I kept my eyes closed.

'Okay done' she sang before turning the stool around so I could face the mirror, I had been trying to sneak my eyes open so she had had to turn me around earlier.

I was, again, pleasantly shocked at what she had managed, she had used some sort of smoky silver and dark grey eye shadow to give me what they called the smouldering eyes, delicate lines of black eyeliner made my eyes look bigger and more defined whilst a small amount of mascara had been used to give me thicker and wonderfully long eyelashes. She hadn't given me any foundation, saying that she preferred my skin clear apparently, and had only given me a small amount of clear balm on my lips, though they seemed pinker…had they always been like that? She hadn't done much to my hair but for some reason the ginger waves looked more like a collection of light reds and golds that held hints of cinnamon and amber. Had she dyed it or something?

'Umm Alice, not that I'm not grateful or anything but…why?' I asked, raising my eyebrow.

'Oh for Jay of course' she laughed and I felt myself blush at the mention of his name, I placed my hands on my cheeks, hoping that I wouldn't blush so much when I saw him. I gave her a questioning glance but she just giggled. 'You'll see Eve, now come on…let's go back downstairs'.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: There we go dearies, a little bit of Eve...like her? Spoiler alert, she gets the chance to torture Emmett a little soon, it's funny ( in my mind ) well you can be the judge. Review please : )**


	4. Taking the Plunge

Chapter 4: Nessie POV

* * *

><p>Jay came home from the hospital with a worried look on his face, I figured it probably had something to do with our new friend Eve, I knew whipped when I saw it.<p>

'I am _not_ whipped' he murmured but I knew better.

He was love struck and there was nothing he could do about it. At least he didn't have the same problem that my dad had with mom when they first met, what with the whole wanting to kill her dilemma and then the problem with keeping the secret. Not only was my brother not affected by the smell of human blood but we also had the taboo of letting humans know about us lifted, grandpa Carlisle had made it so that vampires could divulge the secret to people deemed as completely trustworthy. Besides, if word got out somehow then he could always get his friend Luis to just remove the knowledge from the human's mind, so it wasn't like Jay couldn't fall in love with her if wanted to.

'What makes you think she'd even want me' Jay asked from behind me, causing me to jump. I rolled my eyes and turned to face him, crossing my arms over my chest.

'Because you're supernaturally gorgeous and you know it…comes with the territory of being a vampire, also, it's pretty obvious she not only has the hots for you but likes you as a person for some unfathomable reason' I grinned, ducking when he threw a banana at me. 'So, do you looooveee her?' I asked, raising my eyebrow.

'I dunno Ness…do you looooovveeee Jake?' he asked, laughing when I felt a blush rise to my cheeks but didn't reply. 'That's what I thought sis, that's what I thought. Now come on, we're meant to be at grandmas in a bit' he sighed before gesturing for me to go out the door so we could make the short trek to the main Cullen house.

I walked into grandma and grandpa's house and became immediately aware that a human was here, I sniffed the air cautiously…cinnamon, citrus and a hint of honey. Eve? Why was she here? Not that I wasn't happy to see her but it was kind of a shock. I could hear her in the kitchen with Esme along with the smell of freshly made pasta bake…tasty. Jay was still walking over, he had been ridiculously slow as he was caught in his thoughts so I'd just left him behind; he'd get a kick when he found out she was here, probably start humping her leg or something.

'I see someone's been treating you like a Barbie doll' Esme smiled at Eve as she pulled a pile of plates out of the cupboard.

'I didn't really have a choice' she laughed as Alice pouted and raised her eyebrow.

'I'll have you know that it was for your own good young lady, I couldn't have you wandering around the clothes you had on before. That colour you were wearing really didn't suit you and those shoes…oh the shoes!' she sighed dramatically.

'We all know you only did it because you like it' I said from the doorway, she turned and smiled hesitantly back at me. She really did look lovely; I had to give Alice that. I heard Jay come in the front door and stiffen, he was probably aware of Eve's presence by now and I figured he was trying to find the balls to talk to her.

'Shut up or I'll tell Jake about how much you want him' he murmured quietly from the living room and I chuckled under my breath, going over to where Eve was sitting, she looked like she was expecting me to be mad at her for being here or something…when will this girl get some self-confidence already?

'Hey Ness…sorry to just turn up but Esme…' she began and I cut her off with a hug.

'You're welcome here anytime Eve, I'm just sorry you had to put up with my aunt Alice's evil makeovers, trust me…she does it to everyone whether they want to or not' I laughed and Alice huffed just as Jay walked in behind me, I felt Eve stiffen slightly and her heart rate pick up when she saw him, this girl had it bad. Judging by the goofy smile on my brother's face he was just as crazy about her as well.

'Another victim of the Alice special I see' he grinned and Alice jumped off her stool.

'I'd like to see how any of you would manage without me around you ungrateful bunch of-' she yelled before being cut off by a look from Esme, the simple glance made Alice roll her eyes and storm off upstairs.

'Don't worry about Alice, she's a little _eccentric'_ I chuckled.

'I heard that' Alice yelled from her room and we all laughed. Jay came over and sat next to me and Eve at the counter top while my dad entered and began setting the table quietly, shooting curious but knowing glances in Jay and Eve's direction.

'You must be Eve, it's lovely to meet you' my mom said from behind us and I felt Eve jump in surprise. Sometimes my mom forgot she was a vampire. I swivelled around in my seat noticing that Eve seemed a bit shocked at my mom's appearance, people often reacted that way.

'Um…hi?' she said, making it more of a question than a greeting.

'I'm Bella, Nessie and Jay's older sister. Over there is my husband Edward' she gestured and he gave her a small wave in greeting.

'Of course you're missing the most important introduction' came a booming voice from the living room and I mentally groaned at my oaf of an uncle as he caused Eve to jump, his massive form looming into view; he knew he was huge and quite intimating yet he still insisted on shocking innocent people. She seemed a bit frightened at first until her eyes settled on the huge child-like grin spread across his face. She was about to say hi when he bounded over and picked her up in a bone crushing hug, lifting her off her feet as he swung her in the air. I couldn't help but laugh, even though I had been on the receiving end of these hugs and knew they could be disconcerting.

'Emmett put her down you're hurting her!' yelled my aunt Rose from behind him and he immediately dropped her to the floor, placing his hands on her shoulders when she nearly stumbled, still dizzy from the hug.

Rose slapped him across the back of the head and rolled her eyes, turning to her with a curious half smile as she took Eve in with her golden eyes. I knew that Eve must be feeling the same shock that most people got when they first saw my aunt; it was a little hard to believe how beautiful she was. I was just glad that she wasn't showing any hostility towards her, she had softened a lot over the last several years but she could still come off as a bit of a bitch. My dad cleared his throat at my mental train and I rolled my eyes at him.

'I'm Rosalie, this is my idiot husband Emmett, sorry if he scared you Eve' she smiled softly, though I saw a hardness behind her eyes as she looked at her, as if she were a lioness protecting her cubs. Like Eve would ever be able to hurt a fly, she needed to get less paranoid.

'It's okay, I was just surprised that's all, it's nice to meet you. Is this your whole family?' she asked, there were already numerous people in front of her and I could tell she was beginning to wonder if any more people would suddenly burst through the door.

'Not nearly' I laughed; she raised my eyebrow at me so I continued. 'You still haven't met my uncle Jasper, you already met Elsie and Zack who are upstairs in their rooms, then there's Nahuel and Angela who are at work right now, Jake, who lives not far from here with our friends Eric, Leah, Seth and Nelle. Then there's Katlyn and Thomas who might come by later, they live in the city and might stop by with Anthony and Paige' she counted them off on her fingers and I saw her eyes widening.

'That's a lot of people; I already met Carlisle at the hospital of course. Are they all eating with us?' she asked, I laughed and shook her head, they would rather shove hot pokers down their throats than eat human food.

'Only Seth, Nelle, Leah, Jacob, Nahuel and I will be having dinner. The others have…already eaten' I answered as we headed over to the table, I quickly looked back at Jay who looked pained for some reason, probably wishing he could come to dinner but not wanting to eat food. I was shocked when he settled himself in the seat next to her, rolling his eyes when I shot him a curious look.

'I wasn't hungry earlier…so I thought I'd eat now' he smiled at her and I raised her eyebrow before sitting on Eve's other side.

'Hey girls and boys…oooh who's the chick?' asked Seth as he came through the door with Nelle. She smiled at Eve and took a seat next to him at the other end of the table.

'This is Eve, she's from school and Esme invited her for dinner, be nice Seth' I smiled and Seth grinned at me as if saying _would I ever be anything else to a guest?_ He looked lovingly at Nelle and kissed her softly on the cheek as she blushed. I felt a pang of jealousy that mine and Jake's imprint wasn't like that and I noticed that Eve too was gazing at them in slight envy, not that she fancied Seth…she was too hooked on my brother, but it was hard to see the kind of love that the couples in our family shared without feeling slightly jealous.

'Hello, I'm Nelle and this is my husband Seth' she smiled, waving slightly at Eve from across the table and she couldn't help but smile back.

'Don't worry about him, my brother is an idiot' came Leah's voice from the doorway and she looked up to see them walking over to the table. Leah was about three months pregnant but she looked about half way along, probably because her child was a mixture between werewolf and vampire genes which Carlisle had thought would be impossible but apparently the latent shifting genes in Eric's DNA meant that the two opposing gene groups weren't rejecting each other. Though there was still the worry that the mixed heritage within the child may one day start rejecting each other, so far there hadn't been any problems. We hoped that the baby would end up like me and Nahuel, a hybrid of sorts.

I was barely able to control my heart beat as Jacob came through the door followed by Nahuel; he shot a curious look at Eve and shrugged before taking a seat next to me at the table. I smiled up at him and tried to control the blush that I felt threatening to enter my cheeks when I met his eyes, his answering smile was so breath taking that I felt my treacherous heart leap to whole new speeds in my chest and tried to ignore the knowing glance that Jay shot me as Esme began doling out food onto our plates.

It smelt divine, like the most mouth-watering meal I had ever smelt in my life, I loved my grandmother's cooking, it was almost better than my dad's, which was really saying something. I almost choked when I noticed that Jay signalled for food, was he really going to eat for Eve, wow, he really was whipped I thought and chuckled at his annoyed grunt. He eyed the food pensively for a while before spotting Eve's curious glance; I doubt she even saw the pained expression he had when he shovelled a few pieces of pasta into his mouth and smiled in false satisfaction. By now, everyone at the was eating while watching him with looks ranging from amused and curious to outright trying to stop their laughter as their forks hung suspended in mid-air. He shot them all a glare and they all continued eating, some shaking with silent laughter while Jake just shovelled the food into his mouth with single minded determination.

After the meal I went to go into the living room but Jake gave me a pointed look, rolling his eyes from Jay to Eve with a wiggle of his eyebrows, I laughed and put my plate in the dishwasher, going to clear up the other plates with Jake's help.

_Why don't you go show her your photograph collection, she mentioned that she likes photography and it would be a good chance for some alone time with her. _I thought at my brother, mentally winking and trying to stop my laughter as Jake quietly chanted the _kissing in the tree _song as he wiped the table.

'Hey Ness, you wanna go for a run?' Jake grinned when we had finished clearing up the kitchen. I felt my heart leap again, not just at the idea of being with Jake but also at the idea of running, which I loved.

'Sure' I shrugged, trying to act casual while my whole body was buzzing. I followed him outside and raised my eyebrow when he didn't go off to phase. 'No wolf form today?'

'Nah, I've been trying to improve my running speed in my human form' he grinned, 'maybe I'll be able to beat you…' he trailed off and I huffed at him.

'As if Jake, I'll always be able to kick your ass' I laughed as I took off my shoes. I didn't really need them because my feet wouldn't get scratched as I ran; I liked the feel of the forest beneath my feet. There wasn't much forest right here, luckily it lead toward the Canada so we were able to easily switch to a larger forest. I loved this feeling, the wind and the greenery rushing by as Jake and I ran next to each other, I was keeping slow so that he could keep up with me; I knew I could easily leave him in my dust if I actually tried.

He began to overtake me and I could see his smug smile as he ran, he obviously thought I was running my top speed already and had deluded himself into believing that he could actually beat me. I laughed and winked at him before shooting like a bullet past his blurry form and running a good few miles alone. I decided I had proved my point and came to an abrupt halt; almost falling over with laughter when he ran right passed me and tried to stop, only to come face first into contact with a tree.

* * *

><p>Jake POV:<p>

* * *

><p>'Oh my god Jake, you moron!' Nessie wheezed, clutching her side as another wave of laughter overtook her, it was her fault I had hit the tree…why was she laughing so hard? I growled and brushed the mud off myself, it had recently rained and the ground was still slightly damp with the aftermath. A sudden plan formed in my head and I grinned evilly, seeing her laughter stop as she began backing up away from me with her hands held up in surrender. She opened her mouth to say something when a pile of mud suddenly made contact with her chest. I knew it was one of her favourite shirts, the white one with some designer logo on it and felt slightly bad about it for a second...before an even larger mound of mud hit me in the stomach.<p>

The fight was on.

We ended up spending quite a while in our mud fight, resulting in us becoming completely covered head to toe in mud that made us resemble a couple of creatures from the lagoon as we slopped all over the forest floor, searching for a spring or pond of some sort to clean up in. Finally we found a river to the east, glad that it seemed deep and clean enough to properly rid us of all the mud. She pushed me in of course, not showing any surprise when I pulled her in after me and splashed water all over her. That was as far as I got before I got completely side tracked by the sight before me.

I doubt she even knew, but her white top had turned completely see through and I gulped at the sight of how the water made it cling to her body, emphasising parts that I really had no right thinking about. _She has to make the first move, she has to make the first move, she has to make the first move_, I chanted the mantra in my head over and over again as I remembered the conversation I had had with Bella a couple of years ago.

She told me that because Nessie was growing to maturity I would have to be on my best behaviour, she knew that I may entertain the occasional thought as she reached her physical peak but was insistent that whether or not we entered into a relationship was purely up to Nessie and she was to make the first move. I knew this was the logical solution; I loved Nessie more than anything and wanted to be with her no matter what…even if that meant just being a friend when my heart screamed at me to make her mine. It was up to her. She hadn't shown any indication that her view of me had changed from _friend_ to anything else and I could only hope that maybe one day she would wake up and see me in a whole new light. For now, I would wait.

I was so lost in thought that I hadn't heard Nessie wade over to me; she was ringing her hair out and looking at me with an unreadable expression on her beautiful face. For some reason she looked down at my chest and I remembered that I had taken my shirt off to wash the dirt out of it, it must have floated off down river when I was busy inappropriately ogling her. _Stop it Jake_ I thought, trying to prevent my eyes from drinking her in, I was powerless to stop them though as they trailed down her body and I felt my heart giving away my thoughts. I frantically tried to think of anything else…

_Baseball…Nessie_

_Edward naked…Nessie_

_Shopping with Alice_…anything to stop my mind from going to the forbidden, but no matter what I did it all came back to her.

She kept looking at me, her deep brown eyes swimming in some hidden emotion as she trailed her fingers through the water, now only a breath away from me. My breathing hitched and I felt heat flood me as she pressed her palm against my torso, I could hear her heart stutter in her chest as she bit her lip anxiously.

'Oh fuck it!' she growled and grabbed me, pulling my head down as she planted her sweet lips against mine.

I was frozen in place for a second…my thoughts spinning out of control at the feel of her warm body pressed up against me. And then it clicked, she was kissing me…she was making the move. Finally, I could feel the heavenly bliss of her touch without worrying about over stepping the _friend_ mark. No one kissed a friend like this; this was a kiss of passion, I thought, as I reciprocated her movements. There was nothing friendly at all in the way that our mouths moved in perfect synchronisation, every swipe of her tongue sending pure fire through my body as the kiss deepened to dizzying extents.

'Mine' I growled when I came up for air, taking a moment to revel in the sight of her flushed cheeks, eyes burning with emotion and her lips parted and reddened with heat. I grabbed her again, pulling her against me and gripping her hips as she trailed her fingers over my chest, leaving hot paths of electricity rippling over my already over heated skin. She placed her palm against my neck and smiled against my lips. _Mine._ One word, forced into my head from her gift and I growled deep in my chest, pulling her closer to me as she wrapped her legs around my waist and I walked up the bank and out of the river.

'That was…unexpected' I chuckled, ringing my shirt out that I had found caught on some rocks a few yards downstream. Her happy smile turned into a confused frown before hurt began to fill her eyes.

'You…didn't want it?' she whispered and I couldn't help myself as I pulled her over into my arms to comfort her.

'No, god no. I wanted it more than anything. I want _you_ more than anything Ness' I explained, kissing her forehead. 'I had just promised myself…' _and your parents_ I added mentally, 'that I would let you decide when, or even _if_, you wanted to move from friends to something more. I just had no idea that you even saw me as anything other than your best friend, I was trying to give you time to decide. That's what I meant when I said it was unexpected, I had dreamed you would one day wake up and want me in the same way that I wanted you, I just didn't expect that today was that day' I explained and she laughed, looking up in my eyes.

'Jake you idiot, I've wanted to be with you for the past six months, I was just waiting for you to wake up and see _me_ in that way. I'm happy I have you now though, my wonderful wolf' she grinned, placing a gentle kiss on my lips as I smiled back at her.

'So…what do we tell your parents. I don't really fancy being skinned alive any time soon' I chuckled and she sighed.

'There's no hiding it from my dad, I know you're good at hiding your thoughts but there's no way I'll be able to think clearly enough to hide it, I'm just too happy' she explained and I smiled, I loved her being happy, 'plus there's uncle Jaz…even if we do manage to keep my dad in the dark, there is still no way that uncle Jaz won't tell what's going on. I say we just come clean and run away the minute my dad gets out his skinning knife'

'He has a skinning knife?' I gulped and she rolled her eyes.

'Nope, but he could get one I suppose' she laughed then saw my nervous expression and sighed, 'I'm an adult now Jake, they want me to be happy and they've known for a long time that you are the person I was destined to be with for eternity. They're just going to have to deal with it' she smiled, and grabbed my hand, pulling me into a run as we headed off to hopefully a very understanding house full of vampires.

We arrived back to the house after a short while, I could feel my heart thundering in my chest and could tell that Nessie was nervous as well as her hand tightened in my own. _It's now or never _I thought as Nessie called out for her parents in a whisper that she knew they could hear. They came out of the back door, Bella looking curious while Edward looked suspicious, probably because I was singing the chorus to Barbie Girl in my head over and over again.

'What is it Nessie? Is something wrong?' Bella asked before her eyes landed on our entwined hands and widened slightly before she raised her eyebrow. 'Is there something you want to tell us?' she asked slowly, looking from me to her daughter as Edward just glared at me.

'Yes mom, me and Jake have decided to…move on to the next level if you know what I mean' she said as Bella nodded slowly.

'And who may I ask initiated it?' she asked, careful to keep the suspicion in her eyes from seeping into her words.

'That's a weird question' Nessie murmured but sighed, 'I did alright' she said and reached her hand out so she could touch Bella's arm. I blushed as I knew what she was replaying, worried that seeing the images would make Bella angry. Instead of the expected though, Bella just laughed, grinning over at Edward who had an exasperated look on his face.

'She's as unstoppable as you were love' Edward sighed and looked at us again, 'I'm not mad you two. Sure, I would have like to wait at least another…hundred or so years before this happened, but I always knew it was inevitable. It was only a matter of time, remember…_I'm a mind reader_' he smiled as I let out a breath that I didn't realise I had been holding.

We went back into the house with them, catching knowing glances from the rest of the family as they barely managed to control their grins. I rolled my eyes as Emmett and Seth both wriggled their eyebrows at me, taking a seat on the sofa and leaving room for Nessie who surprised me by settling onto my lap with a grin.

'So you guys finally got it on did you?' Emmett grinned before Rose slapped him on the back of the head, shooting us an apologetic look. He grumbled but couldn't hide his grin as I wrapped my arms around Nessie.

'It's about damned time' Jasper drawled.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: In the last several years Rose has softened a lot, she is still cold to strangers and fiercely protective of her family. However, being a mother has warmed her personality so she is no longer as bitchy or judgmental, that's why she is nice to Eve. I just thought I would explain the slight OCC-ness.**

**Also, I would like to thank you all for reviewing, seriously, I felt positively jubilant upon reading them (I know that sounds sarcastic but it's not, it's just the way I talk).**

**CharmMe4You: I do try and stop myself from repeating scenes, it annoys me as well. I like to use it to give extra information and provide good segways into different chapters. I'm glad you picked up on the next generation thing; I was trying to play it off like a sort of beginning to perhaps a series of novels each focusing on a different generation.**

**As for the name Jarrett, I wanted to use 'Jay', partly because I used to be **_**romantically**_** involved (TMI) with a dude with that name but also because of the meaning of the name 'Jarrett'.**

**DreamOut: You have a remote that controls me? I'm slightly scared, could you perhaps fast forward me right now, I'm bored and there are some unsavoury drunk people outside my house that I wish would leave…thanks for the review though, it made me clap my hands and giggle (that's what I do when I'm excited even though I'm a 20 year old woman, sad…I know).**

**I'll shut up now, keep reviewing please : )**

**Anna Brooks**


	5. The Kraken

Chapter 5: Jay POV

* * *

><p>Eurgh. I'd forgotten just how disgusting human food was, not that Esme was a bad cook, it was just the whole me being a vampire thing. It was worth it though, to be able to share a meal with Eve and feel her presence even though my body was revolting at the idea of human food…I didn't care. She was smiling; I had seen earlier in Esme's mind how distraught she had been in the hospital parking lot. Why hadn't I been there for her? I was glad at least someone had been able to break her out of her misery; my grandmother was good at doing that, I doubted there was anyone who was immune to her motherly nature. She could probably get Attila the Hun to cry like a baby and rock back and forth in her arms.<p>

She was smiling now though, it was a wonderful sight and I was happy that my family had welcomed her so quickly. It didn't feel like we'd only known each other for a day, it felt more like she had just been away for a long time and was only now returning to where she belonged. Though it still broke my heart to see the sadness in the depths of her eyes, memories of her mother were swimming around in her mind, popping up every now and again and causing her to feel a wave of sudden pain that, according to Jasper's mind, was almost unbearable.

'Hey, so…Nessie told me you like photography?' I asked her as we left the kitchen and she jumped slightly, having been lost in her own thoughts again.

_Oh crap, umm what do I say to him? Just answer the question you moron, it was a pretty simple question after all Eve. Stop starting at him like a fish and answer…now!_

'Oh…yes, I do like it' she murmured, 'photography that is' she smiled gently.

'Well uh…do you wanna see my photos?' I asked and had to hide my grin as I heard her heart race in response to my question.

'Umm, yeah...sure?' she answered, making it more of a question than a response. I grinned and gestured for her to follow me outside, it wasn't a long walk to my house from here, it was less than a few seconds away in vampire speed but still only a couple of minutes at human pace.

I silently smiled at her slightly nervous shifting as we walked down the pathway towards my house; she seemed anxious but not frightened, more nervous and excited than anything else. Though I dreaded to think how she would be feeling if she knew she was walking alone with a vampire. I still didn't know how or even _if_ I was going to tell her. I know that I didn't want to let her go…but I had to be rational, I'd only known her for about a day and had no idea if she would even _want_ to stick around, especially if she found out that we were all mythical creatures.

'So this is your sister's house?' she asked as we approached the small two story house that lay a few hundred yards away from the larger house.

'Yeah, we've always been a really close family and never like to be far from each other, but we still like to have at least a little privacy' I smiled and she nodded thoughtfully.

_Wow, they really are quite unlike other families, I've never seen a group of people so close to each other when they weren't bound by obligation or genetics. It's kind of refreshing…unless they're in a cult…_

I had to stop myself from laughing at her last thought; it wouldn't be the first time people thought we were a cult. You get a large group of ethereal looking stunningly attractive people who all share similar characteristics, add that to the fact that almost everyone was paired up in couples and we were naturally secretive due to the whole vampire secret thing. It was a logical conclusion to come to.

'Oh she and my…brother in law are students at the university' I answered her thoughts, realising belatedly that she hadn't spoken her question out loud.

_Did I say that out loud, that's weird…I really must learn to control what I say around him, I don't exactly want to accidentally admit that I loved him in the tiny gym shorts earlier. That would be embarrassing._

Again I had to stop my laughter, it was another sad down side to mine and my dad's gifts that we would often pick up on some people's embarrassing memories, I was completely unable to look the man who worked at the grocery store in the eye after I had overheard him thinking about his weekend activities. Let's just say that it involved dressing up like a large animal and…_frolicking_ around with other like-minded people.

She raised her eyebrow at me but shrugged my odd behaviour off, following me into the house that my sister and I shared with our parents. I gestured for her to follow me up the stairs and felt a wave of anxiety wash over me as I opened the door to my room, glad that I had decided to clean it last night when I had gotten bored. It was all done in shades of dark blues, the bed was purely for appearances and I only used it to read or listen to music on, I wasn't nearly as much into music as my father and sister were, though I did share my mother's love for reading; not the romantics like she did though, I was more into things like _The Count of Monte Cristo_.

'Wow your room is so nice' she smiled as she looked at the shelves of books, running her fingers along the spines as she came to a stop when she came to my collection of manga. Oh no, I thought, she's going to think I'm a huge nerd! I had gotten obsessed with the artwork and imaginative story telling of Japanese comics after Uncle Nahuel had bought me some back from his honey moon with Angela in Japan. It was something that had stuck with me even after I had reached full maturity.

'Holy crap, you read _Fairy Tail_?' she gasped, picking up one of the volumes and I found myself grinning like an idiot.

'Yeah, I can't get enough of it' I smiled as she placed it back on the shelf and chuckled at me before inspecting the rest of my room.

_Okay Eve, stop being a nosy ass and just stand still. Stop! _She reprimanded herself and I raised my eyebrow at her when she physically sat herself down on my desk chair and crossed her arms over her chest as if daring her body to move.

'Sorry, I got a bit curious. I didn't mean to be nosy Jay' she said, a blush rising to her cheek as I rolled my eyes.

'Don't be stupid, I invited you up here after all. Here we go' I said, pulling a thick photograph album out of the shelf and moving over to the bed, patting the quilt beside me in a gesture that I hoped was more welcoming than predatory.

I opened up the book as she settled next to me, the thrill I felt when she subconsciously leant her body towards mine was difficult to put into words. I went through the photos; glad that there were very few of me and my cousins otherwise she may become suspicious of the fact that my aunts and uncles never seemed to age. The only family photos was one of me and Finn building a snow man together while Maddy smiled from her perch on top of the snow head. What the picture didn't show was that she had literally just teleported there before the picture was taken; the shock on mine and Finn's child-like faces was evident in the frozen image.

_Oh he looked so adorable when he was a child, I wonder why Nessie looks older than him though? I thought they were the same age…she probably just hit a growth spurt before him or something._

Most of the photos were artistic shots that I had taken from our travels; the jungle from when mom and dad took me and Nessie to visit the amazon nomads, the cold winter we had experienced in Ireland showed a magnificent view of the rolling hills where the Irish coven lived all covered in a thick blanket of snow while in the distance you could see my dad tackling my mom into the snow. Some were black and white while others were in vivid colour, showing the vibrancy of Paige's hair as she held her own child in her arms while Anthony smiled down at his wife.

'Who's that?' she asked, pointing to Paige and Anthony. I thought over the best way to answer, their child was almost matured, only needing a couple of months before she reached full growth so it wouldn't really make sense to say that this photograph was taken three years ago on the off chance that Eve ever met them.

'Oh that's our family friend Paige and her husband Anthony with their daughter Poppy, it was taken about…sixteen years ago' I answered and she seemed confused for a second.

'I'm guessing you didn't take it if you're the same age as their daughter' she murmured and I mentally slapped myself.

'Yeah that's right, I just have it in here because…I like the lighting' I explained, hoping she wouldn't think too much about the holes that were already appearing in my lies. She shrugged and nodded, going to turn the page at the same time as me and almost jumping at the contact our fingers made.

I know it's clichéd but I _did_ feel the stereotypical jolt of energy that people described when we touched, though I was sure that her reaction was probably due to the coldness of my skin which, while not as startlingly freezing as the rest of my family, was still noticeably cooler in temperature than a human's.

_What was that? Like a spark…his skin is so cold. Maybe he's ill? Oh god what if he has a disease, I can't lose another person to sickness. I'm already so close to losing my mother, I remember how she had gotten colder the more her body began to be taken over by the cancer…what if he too…oh god._

Her mind was a writhing spiral of panic and dread which both elated and saddened me at the same time. I know it sounded conceited but a small part of me was happy that she cared so deeply for me already while the rest of my heart was torn at seeing her pain as a single tear rolled down her cheek, unnoticed by her as she became trapped in thoughts. I couldn't take seeing her so sad so I reached out and pulled her to me, wiping the tear from her face as she burrowed her face against my chest.

'Oh I'm sorry Jay' she gasped, jumping away and wiping her cheeks dry. 'I don't know what I was thinking, I just got a little sad is all…sorry for attacking you' she smiled shakily, a small blush spreading across her pale cheeks.

'Firstly I believe _I_ was the one who initiated the hug' I smiled gently, 'and secondly, don't ever apologise for being sad. I wish you wouldn't be but only because I hate seeing you upset' I explained, hearing her heart beat quicken at my words as she got a confused look on her face.

'But why would you care?' she whispered, her thoughts unreadable as her emotions swam around her mind. I blinked in shock and slight anger that the other people in her life had caused her to feel so worthless.

'I care because I like you and want you to be happy, is that so hard to believe?' I answered her, trying to keep the anger from my voice.

'Yeah right, you only just met me, you probably either feel sorry for me or haven't known me long enough to realise I'm a loser' she grunted, closing her eyes and leaning her head against my bedroom wall. I heaved an exasperated sigh and ran my fingers through my hair in frustration, wanting so badly to just grab her and shake her until she started speaking sense.

'Eve I'm sorry but…you're an idiot' I stated. Almost laughing at the shocked expression that graced her face as her eyes shot open and she turned to look at me. She hadn't been expecting that…hell, I hadn't been planning to say it either.

'You're basing your entire opinion on me purely on how some immature and worthless assholes have treated you and frankly it's quite insulting to me, my family and most of all you. Can't you just accept that I'm interested in you because you're smart, funny, compelling and beautiful? Didn't it occur to you that maybe I like you _because_ you are completely different to all the other morons?' I said, raising an eyebrow. She was about to retort when I covered her mouth with my hand, grinning when she looked angrily at me and tried to bite me, how very vampiric of her.

'So answer me this Eve; either you think that I'm a shallow and fake person who would pretend to be friends with someone…or…maybe, just _maybe_, I actually like you but you're being too blinded by your past experiences to see what's smacking you right in the face. So which is it?' I asked as she rolled her eyes, I could feel the blood in her cheeks beneath my hand as she contemplated what I'd just said.

'Fine, I believe you. Happy now?' she sighed, her words muffled but understandable and I chuckled.

'I'm positively giddy with happiness, it is all I can do to stop myself from dancing around in sheer joy' I sighed dramatically, feigning hurt when she slapped my arm, even though I barely felt anything apart from a warm rush at the contact.

'Shit, what time is it?' she gasped, looking around for a clock before pulling her phone out, her eyes widening and her heart racing at the time. 'I have to go, my Nan is going to kill me' she groaned, shooting up and making sure she had everything.

'I'll give you a lift, it'll be quicker' I suggested, slipping my shoes back on and grabbing my keys from my bedside table.

We headed downstairs in silence and I led her outside where my car was parked haphazardly in the driveway, the sun was long gone now and the moonlight glimmered off the silver paintwork as I opened the door for her to climb in, moving slightly faster than normal to get to my side because I knew she wouldn't notice. She really did live close by; it was a regrettably short journey as we drove in comfortable silence that was only broken by the odd direction she gave me. I pulled up alongside a small bungalow in one of the smaller cul-de-sacs in the area, though it was tiny it still held a charming character that didn't fit in with the identical houses along the road but did however suit Eve perfectly.

'Where do you think you have been young lady?' came a harsh croak from the front door as I helped Eve out of the car. I heard her gulp and saw her cheeks pale as she stared in the direction that the voice came from and I turned around to smile apologetically at who I assumed to be her grandmother.

_Thank god she's alright. Silly girl is almost an hour late; she could have been dead in a gutter for all I knew. What is she wearing? She must be freezing. Wait…who is that young man, I thought she was over at Mrs Cullen's house for dinner…_

The elderly woman's thoughts were harsh yet undoubtedly caring towards Eve, I could see why she had been afraid of getting on her grandmother's bad side…even I was slightly wary of this woman even though she was a good foot shorter than me.

'I'm sorry Mrs…Jones?' I asked and she nodded, her blue eyes narrowing as she glared at me. 'Eve and I were talking and we lost track of time, I apologise for making you worry' I smiled sheepishly.

_Who is this boy? He seems polite enough but it's always the polite one's who end up being serial killers…very handsome, I wonder Eve has finally found herself a boyfriend, or perhaps he is using her like that boy Tom did as a practical joke in her last school…he doesn't seem like the type though. Is he a friend? I hope that she has finally managed to find some decent people as opposed to that silly Lisa girl…_

I bit back my growl at the memories flooding her mind of Eve's loneliness, images of my sweet angel crying in her room for two days after a boy named Tom had invited her to a dance, only to publicly humiliate her for fun. She really did care for Eve and wanted her to be happy, but she was concerned that her granddaughter wouldn't be able to find proper friends in this city.

'I thought you were going over to Dr Cullen's house for dinner…' she trailed off suspiciously, eyeing her granddaughter as she pulled her bag out of the car.

'Oh I did Grandma, this is Jay, he's Dr Cullen's nephew and I met him at school today' she smiled warily at her grandmother before turning back to me. 'I'll see you tomorrow Jay, thanks for the lift home' she smiled, seeming unsure as to how to bid me farewell as she hovered between a hug and a handshake, eventually ending up awkwardly patting my arm before heading inside.

'I'll be there in a minute, go straight to bed young lady' her grandmother called, ignoring the worried look that Eve shot me before a harsh glance sent her rushing into the house. She turned and settled her stony gaze on me, taking a few steps forward until she was right in front of me; she seemed intimidating despite her height, her personality towering over me as I fought to keep a pleasant expression.

'What is your full name boy?' she asked, crossing her arms over her chest as if daring me not to answer.

'Jarrett Edward Cullen ma'am' I responded, keeping my voice steady as a sardonic smile lifted her wrinkled cheek.

'And your parents, what do they do?' she demanded.

'My father is a travel writer and my mother is a photographer, they're living in Africa at the moment' I answered and her eyebrow lifted.

'Then who do you live with child? Don't tell me you're one of those silly teenagers who lives off the family riches while his parents just let him do as he pleases' she said, eyeing the car behind me and coming up with the assumption that I came from money and was therefore irresponsible.

'I live with my sister and her husband not far from here, near my uncle and aunt's place' I explained, 'my parents wanted my sister and I to have stability and we are a close family so we moved here'.

'Interesting, I have heard some of the ladies in my bridge club speaking of your family, am I right in believing that not only does Dr Cullen and his wife live in the house, but also his sister and her husband and their friends the Whitlock's with three adopted teenagers' she questioned, worried that such young couples adopting was a sign of being irresponsible and concerned that foster children my age would be a bad influence on her granddaughter. I pushed down my annoyance at her assumptions, understanding that she was just concerned about Eve and didn't actually know my family.

'Yes, however I can assure you that they are all remarkable people and my adopted cousins and I are very close, not wild like other adopted children of their age. My cousin Zack for instance volunteers at the hospital with my gr-uncle' I explained, seeing understanding and approval flicker in her eyes.

'Well okay then, I have met Mrs Cullen and though she is pretty I find her not as flighty as I would have assumed, she is quite a polite and mature woman indeed and I know my Fiona is very fond of her but I'll have to take your word about the rest of your family…but you…' she trailed off, narrowing her pale blue eyes and poking my chest.

'What intentions do you have towards my granddaughter young man?' she asked, her eyes were fierce with protectiveness that was almost frightening even to a vampire.

'I can assure you I have only the best attentions towards Eve, I am fully aware of her past experiences with people at school and find them to be immature and unworthy of her friendship to begin with. I like her very much and my sister Nessie is also very fond of her even though we've just met' I told her, the sincerity of my words ringing out as I spoke them. Her eyes widened and she smiled a crinkled smile, letting out a small laugh.

_Finally, some genuine people in that zoo they call a school. I knew it was only a matter of time before someone came along and got past her defences, I am glad she has met someone who actually seemed to have more than one brain cell. Oh and he's handsome too, if I was sixty years younger…_she chuckled mentally before turning her gaze back to me.

'Very well young man, thank you for bringing her home' she spoke simply, turning to go inside before stopping and swivelling back towards me and jabbing her bony finger into my chest again. 'But if you even consider hurting Eve, I will castrate you boy…I am quite the dab hand with the pruning sheers' she smiled before turning away again and disappearing into the house, closing the door behind her. I gulped a little and grimaced before spotting Eve at one of the windows holding a piece of paper to the glass with the word 'sorry' written in large letters. I chuckled and lifted my hand in goodbye, climbing into my car.

By the time I got back to the house Eric and the others had gone, leaving just my family and Jacob's thoughts in the living room as I parked my car and headed up the steps.

'Well look at this' I grinned when I spotted Nessie in Jake's lap, she rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at me, unable to hide the grins that both her and Jake wore as she snuggled up to him.

_It's about damn time_ I thought, I'd been hearing their constant yearnings for what feels like forever and I was happy that my sister had finally grown some balls and made a move. Though I wasn't looking forward to hearing the lustful thoughts now that they could actually act on them to some extent, though I could block someone's mind out of my head it still took a lot of concentration and was hard to keep up for more than a few minutes. I'd have to ask mom to shield them whenever they were together or something, but she'd probably do that anyway for the sake of my father's sanity.

'So did _Eve_ get home alright?' Elsie grinned as she came down the stairs and joined her brother on the sofa, wiggling her eyebrows at me.

'Yeah, she was a little late and her grandmother almost skinned me alive before interrogating me' I shuddered and Esme laughed.

'That woman is a battle axe if I ever saw one, isn't that right honey?' she grinned, tilting her head towards Carlisle who was standing behind her seat.

'Oh yes, she has half of the hospital staff running in utter terror every time she visits Fiona' he chuckled, rubbing her shoulder. 'But enough of the Kraken' he grinned before slipping into serious mode. 'What are we planning to do about these 'vampires' at your school?' he asked as several people's heads shot up curiously.

'It's a group of teenagers who have apparently been going around telling everyone they're vampires, even though they aren't. They apparently are utterly convinced that they really are vampires' Nessie explained and Rose laughed bitterly.

'That's not such a big deal Carlisle, ever since all these bloody television shows began we've come across more and more delusional kids who paint their faces white and wear contacts in the belief that they're vampires. Why should we worry about these ones?' she huffed, raising her eyebrow.

'Well if perhaps you could explain what sets them apart Jay?' he asked me and I shrugged.

'Well the problem with these ones is that I can't read their minds' I explained and my dad furrowed his brow while a few other people gasped and muttered in response.

'Any of them? Are they completely blank or are they shielded somehow' he asked and I sent him my memory of scanning them earlier, he nodded after a minute and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as everyone else looked between us curiously.

'It appears that they aren't completely unreadable' he began, looking to me and I nodded for him to continue, 'their minds more resemble a…tangled web or vague flickers, not shielded by anyone, just indistinct like Alice's view of the pack' he said, glancing over to Alice. 'Judging by Jay's memory, I would compare it to the way I have seen some minds work in the case of insanity. Though I can't be sure, I would assume that these children's delusions have reached a point of warping their thought patterns, making it difficult to isolate their mental voices' he explained and Carlisle nodded pensively.

'What about that Lisa girl though, the one who I could hear more clearly' I asked and he smiled sadly.

'It seems to me that for her it is a case of resisting the delusion, she must still be unconvinced unlike the others, she is the newest in their group?' he asked and I nodded. 'I don't think it'll be a problem, they show no signs of being actual vampires or of being under the influence of a vampire, besides, I fail to see how allowing several misguided teens to delude themselves could benefit one of our kind'.

'Could they risk exposure Carlisle?' Jasper asked, thinking over ways to negate the threat without killing the kids.

'I doubt it, unless the students actually believe them' he looked to me and I shook my head, 'they appear to be just another group of children with bad judgement, there is sadly nothing we can really do to help them, but they shouldn't be a risk. We have never been posed a threat by any other similar groups so I suggest we just keep our distance, watching for any change but not panicking' he shrugged.

'Fine by me' Emmett grinned, turning to me and wriggling his eyebrows. 'Now tell me little Jay, who's this _Eve_?'

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Like it? Review please : ) I thought that I should make Eve's grandmother less harsh, she really does care about Eve and Fiona. In response to chloe's review, I'll give some information on the new characters etc:**

**First of all, the story takes place about seven years after A New Power, I'd guess around 2016ish. This means that Nessie has recently reached full maturity while Elsie, Zack, Maddy, Finn and Jay have all grown too. Jay and Finn were born in the last seven years, not long after all the crap with Vasilios was resolved.**

**Jarrett (Jay) – Tall with a nice build, dark brown messy hair and bright green eyes like Edward had when he was human. I like to think of his smile as a perfect combination of both Bella's and Edward's; somewhat quirky with a slight bite of the lip.**

**His powers are as follows; mind reading, though not as far a range as his father has and less clarity. He can't see full images, only words and flashes, though he does have the ability to look past current thoughts and into the memories of a person within his range.**

**Finn- Carlisle and Esme's son, tall with caramel coloured hair and gentle blue eyes. He's more reserved than his cousins (well technically his nieces and nephews but he doesn't think of them that way) he's intelligent and witty, sarcastic and funny. No powers but a bright mind, wants to be a doctor like his father.**

**You also asked about Maddy? She can teleport as we found out in the last story, she is able to focus on an object or person and move them in a swarm of golden light either toward her or away from her to any location she can picture. She can also teleport herself.**

**Other powers:**

**Elsie-mechanical intuition; she can instantly see how any given technology is constructed and is able to create extremely advanced technology that would take a team of scientists a decade to even think of. She's basically a super mechanic/inventor.**

**What I'll do is I'll create a vampire glossary for those who may not remember or haven't read A New Power. I still have a couple of new people to introduce : D**

**I'll shut up now.**

**Anna**


	6. Finn

**A/N: I know it's been a while since I last updated...well not really that long but it feels like a lifetime for me because my laptop was getting fixed in the shop and I have been literally driving myself crazy without a computer. Anyway, here's the next chapter...a little bit of Finn for you.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Finn POV<p>

* * *

><p>Another day of school…how <em>fun<em>. Not that I didn't love to learn new things, but there was nothing in my classes that I didn't already know; my father had home schooled me and taught me everything from basic math to history and medicine. I wanted to be a doctor as well and had begged to be able to pose as an intern at the hospital but apparently I had to experience school like my cousins...well technically more like my nieces and nephews but I always found it weird to think of them that way seeing as they were mostly older than me, if only by a few years. Besides, I saw Zack more like a brother than anything else, while the others were siblings that, though occasionally annoying, I still loved like brothers and sisters.

'Good morning honey' my mom smiled as I came into the kitchen. I had gotten my caramel coloured hair from her, though my eyes were apparently like my father's from when he was human and the rest of my appearance was like an exact copy of him.

'Morning mom' I said, smiling when I saw her eyes glimmer at my greeting; even though I was fully matured and had been for the past four years, she still got happy whenever I called her _mom_. I could tell how badly her and my other family members had longed to have children of their own and my mom and dad treated me like a miracle, even when it got annoying.

'You looking forward to school today son?' my dad asked as he came in and wrapped my mom in his arms.

'As much as I can with all the nonsense' I shrugged and he raised his eyebrow.

'Nonsense? Nessie and Jay have made friends, even Elsie has signed up for shop class…she said something about _showing the humans a thing or two about engines'_ he chuckled, 'you could try maybe joining a club or something? I know how frustrating it is to be taught things that you already know'.

'I'll think about it dad, it's been a week already and I haven't found any clubs I like the look of, do you reckon they have a vampires anonymous or something? Perhaps I could join up with the goth kids that Jay told us about?' I laughed and he rolled his eyes as I headed out the door, choosing to take my own car today because I had no idea whether or not Jay would decide to meet up with his lady love again and I really hated the feeling of being teleported by Maddy when he left us without a ride.

'Do you wanna ride with me today Zack?' I asked as he came down the stairs, his dark hair sticking up in all sorts of directions again. He nodded and grabbed his bag, following me out of the door.

* * *

><p>'So you're like one of the new kids right?' came a sickly sweet voice from my left, I had been busy reading through one of my dad's medical textbooks during the one free period I had and the unwelcome intrusion on my personal space had made me lose my place. I turned slowly to my side and raised my eyebrow at some bleach blonde girl who was absolutely slathered in fake tan.<p>

'Yes I am' I murmured, not wishing to really enter into a full conversation with the girl who I had heard was not only vacuous but also a grade A bitch.

'Wow so like, you all live together? You must be loaded' she smiled, obviously wishing the expression to be alluring somehow but instead she resembled a mixture between a clown and a piranha.

'Yes we all live together and I don't think that's any of your business do you?' I sighed, already itching to escape. I'd have hoped that being in the library would protect me from people like her.

'Oh I'm just interested, that's all. My dad's got tonnes of money so we should hang out you know…get away from all the poor kids' she laughed and the sound almost made me shudder.

'First of all I would rather stick my face in a frying pan than hang out with you and secondly; having money doesn't make you better than anyone. You could have all the money in the world but it still couldn't buy you a brain, you're evidence of that' I smiled, knowing my father wouldn't appreciate my attitude, but then again I _had_ received my mother's hidden rebellious streak.

'Well said young man' someone said as the girl stomped off out of the library. I turned back in my seat to find that someone had occupied the one across from me. I had ignored the sound of someone sitting at my table before but now noticed it was one of the delusion teenagers that Jay and Nessie had picked up on last week.

'Can I help you…?' I trailed off, opening my book back up.

'Yes…I find you remarkably interesting young one, you seem intelligent and above the other mortals' the guy said, running his fingers through his dark hair as I held back a laugh at the faint trail of white makeup he left behind.

'Okay…why are you calling me young? We're the same age' I responded, mentally rolling my eyes at his arrogant smile.

'Oh it is merely a habit for immortals such as myself, age is such an arbitrary concept' he chuckled and I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped my lips.

'Oh immortal are you? Funny…you look pretty human to me' I smiled, knowing I shouldn't really provoke him but this guy was annoying.

'Appearances can be deceptive human' he said, raising an eyebrow condescendingly. 'If you like, you could join us, I am sure the other members of my coven would be happy to welcome a brother. Though I should warn you, there is a certain…expectation we have for fledglings'.

'Oh really, please _do_ tell' I said, he missed the obvious sarcasm and smirked at me.

'Well, as you know we are vampires and therefore are expected to stick to a certain diet and you would be unable to socialise with the humans once you change, our leader would be happy to meet you and answer any questions you may have..' he trailed off, obviously expecting me to jump at the chance.

'Leader? I thought that was you?' I asked, he mistook my curiosity for actual interest rather than just gathering information and smiled triumphantly.

'I'm not the leader; I used to be until about six months ago before we met her at a night club for others of our kind. We found her powers and allure to be quite fitting for us' he answered and I quirked my eyebrow.

'Powers' I asked.

'Yes, well you see, we may be vampires but we sadly lack much strength. We still crave blood and are immortal but this child of the night showed us what we could one day grow to become' he smiled and leaned back in his seat, 'she showed us her granite skin…it sparkles in the sun light don't you know, a true sign of her power. Her red eyes are so vivid and a symbol for the life giving blood that sustains us all, she is impossibly fast and strong and has assured us that one day we will become like her, the next stage of vampirism' he grinned and I could feel a cold river of dread running through my body as I gulped.

'S-so this woman, she found you and promised you immortality?' I whispered, trying to cover up the building panic in my voice.

'Well we already had immortality child, she just showed us that we could become more powerful over time' he smiled, sliding out of his chair. 'I'll leave you to think about it, I suggest you take me up on my offer. The human life is simply too boring to cope with' he sighed, handing me a black card with his number written on it before walking out of the library leaving my mind reeling with this new information.

_Emergency family meeting. Jay, can you hear me? Get the others and meet me by my car after the bell, we'll have to skip lunch, this can't wait. I'll stop by the office and make some excuse for us all._

'Hello son, is something wrong?' Carlisle's voice came over the phone as I walked out of the library towards the front office, glad that almost everyone was still in class, I didn't want anyone to hear this conversation.

'Yes, it's those goth vampire wannabes, I can't explain it all now but I'm getting the others and we're coming home early. We have a problem, can you get off work?' I murmured too low for any hidden onlookers to overhear.

'Yes, I'll get someone to cover my shift and give Edward a call. Is half an hour okay?' he asked, worry tinting his words.

'Yes dad, I'll see you soon. Bye' I said, hanging up and walking into the office.

I decided on a non-descript family emergency to explain mine and my family's absences, grateful for once that my natural 'allure', as people called it, allowed for the receptionist not to ask too many questions before I got out into the parking lot just as the bell went. I could see Maddy and Zack already at my car; worried expressions plain on their faces.

'What's going on Finn?' Zack asked, tapping his fingers on the hood of my car anxiously.

'Let's just say there's more going on with those kids than we thought, I'll explain when we get back home, my dad's meeting us there. Where are the others?' I asked, looking around and spotting Nessie and Jay saying goodbye to Eve before nodding over at me and climbing into his car.

We arrived home to find the rest of the family waiting in the living room, the curiosity and anxiety in the air was almost tangible as I sat down in one of the empty armchairs, waiting for the others to come inside. I noticed Edward's eyes widen slightly when he read what was on my mind, his arms tensing around Bella while Jasper looked between the two of us with confusion. My dad came in a second later, placing himself behind my mom and gesturing for me to explain.

'I think we have a problem…as in a vampire problem' I said, the whole family glanced at me in confusion and I took in a breath. 'Those kids, I don't think they're as delusional as I thought'.

'What, they're really vampires? But they have heart beats and-' Nessie began but I cut her off.

'No they're not vampires, from what I can gather they were just a normal group of delusional teens until about six months ago' I explained.

'What happened six months ago?' Jasper asked, Alice had the glazed look about her that meant she was searching the future, her eyes cleared and she gasped slightly, shaking her head and gesturing silently at me to continue.

'Well according to one of them who tried to…_recruit_ me today' I said, my mom looked worried for a second but I smiled at her, 'no I didn't accept mom' I explained and she let out a breath. 'Anyway, as I said, they used to be just your garden variety crazies until they met someone...a real vampire' I said and heard gasps fill the room.

'How can you be sure this person is a real vampire son?' my dad asked.

'Well the way he described them' I said, recounting the conversation I had had in the library, their expressions turning from incredulity and amusement at what the boy had told me to shock and worry when he had described perfectly the vampire that he now called his leader.

'What does this mean Carlisle? What possible reason could a vampire have to bother with a bunch of kids apart from feeding?' Rose asked.

'I really don't know Rose, the only thing I can think of is that is has something to do with the reason why Jarrett can't read them…' he murmured thoughtfully as Jay nodded.

'It could also perhaps explain why the Lisa girl is so afraid, if she is truly spending time with a vampire then it would definitely cause her unease' Jay pointed out.

'What are we going to do? Are we at risk of exposure?' Jasper asked my dad, the anxiety in the room was making him look more and more worried by the second.

'I don't think so; this woman has been here for six months. I just can't understand why a vampire would feel the need to approach these children and offer them immortality. We need to find out more' he answered to a murmur of agreement.

'But how?' Emmett asked, 'I mean this vamp chick will be able to tell a mile away if Adam tried to spy on the group. Even if he avoids meeting her, she's bound to pick up on his scent and she seems to have some form of spooky control over them, there's no way to get past that and we can't exactly get a human to help out' he pointed out.

'Yes, it's quite difficult…for now all we can do is keep an even closer eye on them. Edward, could you perhaps stop by the school and try and read them from a distance, maybe it's just a glitch that's making their thoughts unreadable. Alice, try and keep track of what decisions they're making and Jay…could you possibly scan a couple of people, find out if these kids had any friends in the school before they separated themselves. Okay?' my dad asked, somewhat like a general commanding an army and we all nodded our acceptance, sometimes the committee's need to keep tabs on other vampires overlapped with our family, pulling us all into investigations if they were nearby.

'I can't see them, I don't think any decisions they're making are fully in motion. It's almost like how it was with Victoria' she winced, her brow pursed in concentration. 'I can't see anything to do with a vampire, whoever this person is they must have them under quite strong controll to be able to block both me and Jay from seeing them' she sighed sadly before perking up and jumping slightly. 'We have an unexpected guest tonight, well not unexpected now. They might be able to help us get to the bottom of this' Alice smiled softly, raising her eyebrow at the curious glances that we all shot her as she rolled her eyes.

'A _good_ set of guests guys! One of themwe already know, they're a couple that are planning on moving nearby and one of them is somewhat of an old friend of yours and wants to stop by. No, I am not telling you who it is Carlisle' she smiled at my dad who looked slightly like a disappointed child which caused me to chuckle.

'Okay, thank you for trying Alice' my dad sighed, rubbing his forehead, 'for now I suggest just keeping an eye on them, maybe this vampire will show herself to us. Are you sure you won't tell me who the guest is?' he asked, his worry about the vampire replaced by slight excitement at Alice's hints as she grinned and shook her head, refusing to tell him.

'What time will they be here…oh I need to clean the house, it's simply terrible' my mom gasped, looking around the spotless living room as my dad rolled his eyes at her in exasperation.

'Oh not until about five o'clock Esme so stop panicking, we have a good few hours until they get here. Besides, the whole house is completely spotless' Alice chuckled while mom began straightening up the magazines on the coffee table, growling slightly at Emmett when he didn't move his feet off it.

* * *

><p>The afternoon hours drifted by at a painfully slow pace, we were all anxious to see who was coming to visit but Alice was apparently skilfully blocking both Edward and Jay from her thoughts and keeping her vision a secret, even from Jasper who had been pacing anxiously around the living room for almost an hour now. I decided to go for a walk out by the lake, well…more like a run, I enjoyed the view around here and it would be a welcome escape from the excitement and curiosity that saturated the house while my mom whizzed around cleaning things and reorganising furniture with almost obsessive purpose.<p>

I was running through a small patch of forest when I first came across the scent. It was unlike anything I had ever smelt before…not tempting like blood, though blood never held the same fierce calling to me that it had for other members of my family. It wasn't the same as human though, there was a trace of it beneath the delicate aroma of freshly cut grass, jasmine and a faint trace of the same warm smell of your sweater after you've been at a bonfire. It was the most unique set of scents I had ever smelt and the trail leapt and twirled through the trees as I tried to gain a sense of who could have left it.

They weren't a vampire, shifter or human…then what possible other things could have left it. Judging by the path the scent left it was a supernatural being of sorts, I had read my father's friend Joseph's book on the facts of the supernatural world and tried to recall what other options there were.

Mermaid…no, couldn't possibly be. Joseph had only ever met one and had written that they were somewhat obsessive in their love for the sea, so much so that they refused to leave it. Besides, it was hard to run through the trees like this being had when you were dragging a fish tail behind you.

Leprochaun…nope. Firstly we weren't in Ireland and secondly the smell wasn't anything like the description that Joe had written. This scent was almost intoxicating with its alluring tones of flowers and the way it made me want to follow it everywhere. I'd have to ask my dad, just in case it was a creature that would cause harm to the family or any humans in the area, though for some reason I doubted there was any malice in its movements. If anything it seemed to just weave through the trees as if the scent's owner had been dancing around the wildlife without a care in the world.

'Where did you run off to little man?' Emmett grinned when I came in the door, wiping the small drops of water from my hair that had gathered since it began drizzling a few minutes ago.

'Em, I'm not little any more. Though I suppose anyone is little compared to a gorilla like you' I laughed, nudging him off his stool by the counter top.

'Son, you know if you provoke Emmett he will end up trying to wrestle you and we don't have time for that…' my mom sighed as she wiped down the stove.

'Mom, why are you still cleaning?' I asked, raising my eyebrow at her as she began spraying down the counter top with some citrus scented white stuff.

'Because we have visitors coming and I don't want them to see the house in a mess' she smiled distractedly while scrubbing.

'Yo, Finn' Emmett whispered as he leant towards me, 'I think your mother is going insane' he said before bursting out into a fit of laughter when Esme sprayed him in the face.

'I'll have you know Emmett Cullen that it is purely your fault why I have to clean this house so much, with your muddy shoes and your complete disregard to where things belong!' she growled playfully, chuckling when Emmett feigned shock and disbelief.

'One time…one time I track mud into the kitchen after Jasper pushed me into the lake!' he gasped, pointing at Jasper who just raised his hands in mock surrender.

'You can't blame me for that bro, you're the one who angered the beast' he grinned.

'Oh so you're the beast now are you Jasper…no one told me about this new development, I almost forgot to quiver in fear' Emmett chuckled, pretending to grip himself in horror as my mom rolled her eyes.

'Okay boys enough of the macho contest, go into the lounge and get ready to meet our guests…ooh what if it's Violet…perhaps she found a mate?' she smiled as she dried off her hands and followed us into the living room.

'You're not gonna guess Esme so stop trying' Alice laughed as she skipped into the room, 'You'll find out in about a minute, less if Edward founds out and ruins the surprise' she said, settling into Jaspers laps and kissing him while Maddy made gagging gestures from the other sofa.

'Oh!' Edward exclaimed from the sofa while Jay furrowed his brow in concentration, lifting his eyebrows at his father as he smiled over at Carlisle. There was a knock on the door and my mom almost jumped in anticipation while Carlisle walked over to answer it, rolling his eyes at Alice's knowing smile. He opened the door with exaggerated slowness, chuckling at Esme's annoyed expression before pulling it open all the way.

I didn't recognise the couple standing in the door way, I knew they were both vampires and that most of my family knew them, judging by the gasps and Alice's excited squeal. The man was tall and had skin that was paler than a normal vampires; I guessed this was something to do with age because he seemed to be quite old, though his looks put him at a handsome thirty something. He had long jet black hair that was tied up at the back of his neck, giving him the appearance of having a more modern hairstyle to a human's perspective and his golden eyes shone with happiness as if it was almost foreign in the world to him and he was still getting used to it.

The woman was also beautiful, though contrasting in her height as she couldn't be much taller than Alice. Her deep golden curls were the colour of pure honey as they framed her delicate face, giving her the appearance of a china doll, though she didn't look childlike at all…more like a sweet woman who you could imagine dancing around and singing about her favourite things. I noticed that her eyes too were golden like my families, the same spark of happiness that hinted at a dreamlike quality, as if she had once believed all hope was gone from the world, only to be given happiness again. She seemed almost as dubious as her mate did, both sharing that same expression, as if they believed that joy had been impossible for them.

'Marcus old friend, please, come in' my dad smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know it's not my best chapter, also it's quite short and not very well written but I'm going through an annoying writer's block phase. Tell me what you think about Finn : D**


	7. A Second Chance at Happiness

**Disclaimer: I do not like green eggs and ham…I do not own Twilight either. All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, the other character are mine though…all mine (evil laugh).**

**A/N: I'm sorry people, I think I'm having the worst case of writer's block ever! It's literally driving me insane: ( Either way, I finally got some more done, hope you like it. Review please :D**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Bella's POV ( I know right, I went agggeeesss without going into her mind)<p>

* * *

><p>'Uh, I hate to be <em>that<em> person but…who the hell is Marcus?' Elsie asked, voicing the opinion of those of the kids who were still in the dark as Esme hugged Marcus and his…mate it seemed like. I thought his mate had been killed by Aro?

'Marcus here is an old friend, we met…when was it, oh too long ago to remember' Carlisle smiled.

'Holy crap! You were in the Volturi?' Jay gasped and I rolled my eyes at my son.

'Another mind reader I see?' Marcus smiled as Carlisle chuckled.

I must say it was truly nice to see him smile. When he had been in the Volturi he had been so apathetic and depressed from his mate's death, the only emotion I ever saw him show was extreme rage and betrayal when he discovered that the Volturi's now dead leader, Aro, had in fact murdered his mate and kept Markus tied to the Volturi. He had left that day in the clearing after we had killed the Volturi, he said he was in search of peace and I had felt saddened and the idea that the newly freed vampire would banish himself to a life of solitude or perhaps even death, I was relieved to see happiness in him once again and I could tell Carlisle was ecstatic too.

'Yes Jay, Marcus was in the Volturi, not by choice though' Carlisle smiled sadly and Jay nodded in understanding. Sometimes my son just didn't know when to keep his questions to himself, I mussed his hair and hugged him too me, ignoring his embarrassed grumbles.

'Why don't you take a seat Marcus…and?' Carlisle trailed of, gesturing to the woman who was looking around the room curiously.

'Oh, Penelope' she smiled before sitting down next to Marcus and entwining her hand with his, he smiled warmly at her and sighed before looking back to Carlisle.

'Were you two outside in the woods…wait' Finn trailed off, sniffing them in an absurdly dog like manner as Esme rolled her eyes, 'never mind' he shrugged, looking slightly disappointed.

'Scent? Human? Vampire?' Penelope asked, 'I'm quite good at scents' she smiled and Finn dug out a leaf from his pocket. 'Here, I don't think it's human'.

'Hmmm, definitely not human, not vampire either or werewolf or shifter, no idea. Honey?' she asked, waving the leaf in Marcus face as he took a whiff, shaking his head _no_.

'Well, I have no idea, maybe we'll catch sight of them at some point' Carlisle murmured, sniffing the leaf before handing it back to his son, 'for now I want to hear how you have been Marcus…you look different' he smiled.

'In a good way of course' Esme reassured him, leaning forward a bit. 'What have you been doing since…you know' she trailed off, meaning the battle with the Volturi.

'How about I start from the beginning Carlisle, I think that would be easier all around' he suggested and Carlisle nodded his acceptance, sitting back in his seat and pulling Esme to his side.

'So…as you know, my mate Didyme was killed by her brother Aro when we were planning on leaving the Volturi and I spent the rest of my life living a half-life, neither alive nor dead while my body was numbed to emotion. I was worse than depressed…I was _empty_, never feeling pain or sorrow, just coldness for countless years' he smiled sadly and I could see that everyone in the room who hadn't heard his story was feeling sympathetic.

'So when it came to the day of the battle against you, I really couldn't care less. Not that I do not feel deeply for you family, I _do_…but I didn't feel anything back then. Of course you remember that I chose to stay out of the fight, only coming forward once it was over to tell you of my reluctance to fight. And then, as most of you should know, Edward told me of the truth behind my mate's death' he said gesturing to my husband.

'You see, I had believed for years that her death had been at the hands of some anonymous guard member who Aro had killed in vengeance' he explained, looking to my son and the others who were not there that day. 'But it soon became apparent that Didyme was killed in cold blood by the leader of the Volturi himself, her own brother had slaughtered her in his quest for power. It was the first time I can remember ever feeling emotion since her death, I was so angry…enraged and betrayed and I just couldn't believe the amount of pain I felt at that moment when Aro admitted the truth' he sighed, his gentle smile turning into a frown briefly before Penelope rubbed soothing circles on his back.

'Of course I killed him, as you remember. I decided after that to find peace, after years of emptiness followed by the pain of a thousand life-times being thrust upon me in a second, I just wanted silence. I spent about five years wandering the world, coming across few people. As you can see I changed my diet' he noted, pointing to his now golden eyes, 'I think I did it because I felt like enough pain had been brought into the world, I had no right to bring death upon anyone as I had done for thousands of years with the Volturi. I began to hunt on animals and actually found it quite to my liking' he said, rolling his eyes at Carlisle's slightly triumphant smile.

'Though the pleasure of the hunt and the peacefulness of my wandering did bring me some form of tranquillity, I still felt as if a part of me had been destroyed and the pain became too much. I actually began to head back towards Washington, hoping that the tribe of wolves could perhaps perform the task of putting me out of my misery. I never got there though' he smiled up at Penelope who grinned at him.

'He met me instead' she chuckled, kissing him on the cheek. 'I'll continue from here honey' she whispered and he nodded happily, gesturing for her to continue.

'Well before we get to how Marcus and I came to meet, you should probably know my history' she sighed, crossing her legs in a very human gesture.

'Like Marcus, I too lost a mate. Though it was markedly different than what that bastard Aro did, the pain was still the same. I met Sebastian back in the early nineteenth century when I was living in Paris for a while. He was such a charming man, he owned a bakery on the outskirts of the city and he immediately caught my eye. Though at first I was planning on just feeding from him, I soon became entranced by everything about him-'

'Wait…he was human?' Rose asked and she nodded, giving a small smile.

'Yes he was very much human…too human indeed. I risked his life just by being near him and so I looked for ways to better my control. The only thing that worked was to feed from animals instead; I guessed that if I didn't drink human blood, my body wouldn't crave it as much. It worked to some extent, combined with my wish to protect Sebastian I was able to be with him properly' she sighed.

'I told him what I was after about a year of dating, he wasn't even afraid bless him, he told me he loved me no matter what' she smiled and I couldn't help but think that her story was eerily similar to mine and Edwards, though I knew that soon it would turn bad.

'One day he was on his way to meet me when Jane and Felix of the Volturi guard came across him, of course he immediately knew what they were, he remembered my red eyes from when I drank from humans and could see their unnatural paleness and grace. They saw that he was aware of them, taking it upon themselves to kill him and _keep the secret_' she spat, relaxing when Marcus squeezed her hand. 'I had caught onto their scent and came to investigate, only to find my love dead at Jane's feet' she whispered and I could see Jasper trying to prevent himself from sobbing, the sadness she must be emanating from the memories must be getting to him.

'I of course attacked her, only to be brought down mid-strike as an unending pain engulfed my body, she held me there for hours, though it felt like an eternity for me as the pain of losing my love combined with her waves of agony. All I wanted to do was die and I begged them to kill me. She wouldn't, instead telling me that my punishment for revealing the secret was to be a life filled with the pain of losing my mate. She left me there, shattered and broken and my world was empty' she sobbed slightly, leaning into Marcus.

'I wandered for a while, considering many times to find a way to end my life, but I couldn't go to the Volturi and I supposed that a part of me knew that I should survive, that I would one day mend' she explained, smiling up at Marcus. 'So it was about three years ago, when I was minding my own business hunting, when I came across this handsome fellow' she grinned.

'And of course I got angry because she was feeding off the same bear that I had been chasing, but I found it very difficult to be mad for long at this lovely creature. All thoughts of getting myself destroyed and loneliness completely fled my mind when I met her' he chuckled, squeezing her to his side.

'So are you two mated?' I asked, I thought that could only happen once for a vampire.

'I found it odd too, not that I am unhappy with my love, but I had heard that vampires only had one mate; so when I met this woman and had the same instantaneous and undeniable attraction to her, I was of course confused' Marcus explained. 'But I did some research; I learnt that it has happened on occasion, when both vampires have previously lost their mates. Perhaps it is the shared pain and heartbreak that forms the bond, like finding a kindred spirit, or perhaps it is just the universe's way of making amends for the pain caused by taking the original mate. I can't be sure, all I know is that for the first time in almost a thousand years, I am happy and content again.'

'Oh Marcus I am so happy for you' Esme almost wailed as she grabbed him in a hug, obviously all the different emotions had become too much for her and she laughed happily as Marcus hugged her back, seeming slightly wary.

'Congratulations old friend, will you be staying in the area for long? You could stay with us if you wish?' Carlisle smiled.

'Well we were planning on living in Michigan, we were just stopping by to visit but it would be nice to stay for a short time. If that's okay with everyone else?' he asked and we all assured him it would be fine.

'You could stay with us if you like, there's a spare room in our house and it's really close by' Edward offered and I smiled at Marcus and Penelope.

'Not to put a dampener on the mood and all but maybe one of our visitors would help us with our problem?' Jasper asked, looking to Alice who nodded in agreement.

'What problem?' Marcus asked and we explained the conundrum with the teenagers that appeared to be under a vampire's influence and our need to find out more information without tipping the vamp in question off.

'I think I can help with that' Penelope smiled before closing her eyes and furrowing her brow in concentration. Everyone gasped and I looked around, wondering what all the fuss was about.

'What, what happened?' I asked, looking confusedly at Edward who chuckled at my bewilderment.

'Lower your shield love' he whispered into my ear and I sighed, lowering the elastic extension of myself and gasping at what I saw. Everyone was human.

'What the hell?' I asked, gazing at my family with their new heartbeats and the blood running through their veins.

'I have the ability to create an unbreakable illusion of humanity upon myself and others' she grinned, gesturing at everyone. 'They smell, look and sound like humans in every way from a pulse to the smell of blood. However it is purely mental, therefore they are still vampires, I'm guessing you have some form of mental shield and that's why you couldn't see it before and why I couldn't change you' she shrugged.

'Very interesting Penelope, and quite impressive. But how is this supposed to help us?' Carlisle asked as she begun to turn everyone back to normal, his curious blue eyes shifting back to topaz as he turned to face her.

'Well perhaps if I were to make someone seem human, you wouldn't need to worry about this mystery vampire identifying them Penelope answered for her.

'I don't think I have a problem with that, I could do it' Finn smiled, shrugging.

'Well I do! There is no way that my son is going to spy on a group of kids who we know are involved with a dangerous vampire. What about the problem with their minds, what if it's some sort of gift this vampire has to control people, I can't have my son being in danger. No' Esme practically yelled, causing the whole room to turn into silence.

'Mom, have you ever thought that maybe the reason why their minds are all messed up is _because_ they're human? If it worked on vampires then this woman wouldn't be wasting her time with humans' he reasoned.

'Or perhaps this person can warp a vampire's mind just like a human's and the only reason why they're using it on these teenagers is because they take pleasure in controlling other people. I agree with Esme, I wouldn't want Zack or Elsie getting close a sadistic vampire that could possibly have the power to control people's minds' Rose argued, gaining an appreciative smile from Esme.

'How are we going to find out what's going on then? I could follow them around and catch sight of the vampire, and then I can see if Edward recognises them from my memory. We know that my gift works even on Bella so they need never know I'm there' Nelle suggested as Seth shook his head fiercely.

'Nope, not happening. What if this chick is like freaky powerful and can see through your invisibility, I'm not risking you' Seth growled and Nelle rolled her eyes.

'Fine then, how about I just follow the humans around and listen in on _their_ conversations, see if they mention a meeting place and then I can tell Carlisle the information and he can decide what to do with it. That way I won't be anywhere near the vampire but we'll still be getting information, besides, I get bored when you're at work with Jake all day and haunting some teenagers seems like fun' she smiled, glancing around the room to see if anyone had any objections.

'And then after we've gotten more information on the vamp in question, Penelope can make one of us human so we can get close enough to confront her?' Finn asked and Esme hissed. 'I said _one of us _mom, besides, it's going to take a while for Nelle to do her spy thing' he responded, rolling his eyes.

'I think I can deal with that, as long as you promise not to go anywhere near this vampire bitch' Seth sighed, kissing Nelle's temple.

'I promise honey' she assured him, patting him on the head like he was a well behaved puppy, 'who's a good boy. Yes you are' she cooed, scratching his ears and laughing at his raised eyebrow.

'You guys are _weird' _Emmett laughed as Rose rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.

'Whatever Em, at least we don't go around destroying houses with our couple activities' Seth grinned.

'That was one house one time and it was falling down anyway, how was I to know that we were propped up against a load bearing wall. We got carried away, that's all' Emmett argued, not realising that he had unwittingly just given Zack and Elsie quite the mentally scarring image.

'DAD!' Oh my god! Just, quiet…don't say anything else or I swear to god I will go outside and render your Jeep completely unusable' Elsie growled causing Emmett to look comically guilty as Rose muttered angrily under breath.

'Idiot' she hissed, slapping him on the back of the head and shooting an apologetic look towards Zack who seemed frozen in place on his seat, probably catatonic.

'This family is…_strange_ Marcus' Penelope murmured, tilting her head to one side and looking at each of us carefully. 'I love them!' she squealed in a very Alice like way, clapping her hands and sitting up in her seat. 'Okay so who here knows about the best shops because I haven't bought a new outfit since Mr grumpy butt over here took me to the mall of America. Did you know that have over five hundred stores? A lot of food places though, it kind of smelt gross with all the human food. Why do these people eat this _fast food_ all the time, it looks appalling' she huffed, wrinkling her nose at the memory before joining Alice in making a 'plan of attack' on the nearby clothes shops.

'I hate to break it to you Marcus but I think you have lost Penelope to my wife for the duration of your stay' Jasper smiled and Marcus chuckled, the sound still seemed so unfamiliar coming from him that I felt surreal as I watched him smile.

'Oh I'm not worried, we've been travelling so much since we met that we haven't really had the chance to make many acquaintances. Most who know me are either afraid because of my former position in the Volturi or just plain uninterested. Likewise, Penelope spent her life avoiding other vampires since her confrontation with Jane so it's nice to see her getting on so well with someone' he smiled, watching as Alice pulled out a map…yes a _map_ of the shops in the city on which she had written stats such as design range, price, variety of fabrics and even a note on whether they kept their clothes organised by colour or style. She was quite frightening in her precision as she charted out the route she planned for her and Penelope to take around the city in order to get the most shopping done.

The men started talking about _man things_ so I took it as my cue to leave, kissing Edward gently on the forehead before slowly walking out back, I figured I could try and trail that scent that Finn had mentioned earlier, though I didn't have the same experiences with meeting different species as our friend Joe had, I thought I may as well do something to while away the hours before my college classes started.

I was taking Literature, of course, and history. I had gained a new respect for the subject seeing as I would probably be there to witness many things that a hundred years from now would be taught in schools as historical events. I also enjoyed taking what I had learned in lectures to Carlisle, hearing him tell me about the instances when vampires were involved in human history. For example, I had no idea that the witch burnings had actually been instigated by Aro, however ironically, in his belief that humans with gifts would be a threat to vampire kind and not trusting them enough to change them into a vampire, choosing instead to get rid of the threat he believed they posed.

Apparently the _humans _with gifts may not have been humans at all according to Carlisle, stating that from Joseph's research they had discovered that there was a race of supernatural creatures named the Fae…or fairies, except without the wings and glitter. They were so like humans that Aro had thought they were mortals with powers. Apparently the wave of 'witch' burnings had severely decimated their species, meaning that it was incredibly rare to meet one, though there were some humans who had Fae blood in them and never realised it, often resulting in humans with gifts.

It never failed to amaze me some of things I would learn about the supernatural world, I had thought it was insane enough that vampires and werewolves were members of my family, only to realise that I could very easily be walking through the forest and bump into an imp or take a dip in the sea and come face to face with a mermaid. I didn't know how I would react when I met another species…shocked, surprised, pleased, excited…I had no idea. I just knew that they were out there, equally as aware of my kind as I was now of theirs.

I slowed down on my run as I broke through the trees and saw the lake, the moonlight was glimmering off the surface and I smiled at the beauty of it. It was almost unbelievable to think that only a few minutes run away from the bustling cities of New York and Buffalo, there was a natural tranquillity that seemed untouched by man, the only signs of interference being the wooden bench on the shore than I settled myself on.

'Penny for your thoughts love?' a musical voice broke through the sound of the gentle lapping of the water and I smiled as Edward sat down next to me, pulling me into his arms.

'I was just relaxing. You know, taking a breather from the shopping plans and man talk' I smiled as he chuckled and I felt his breath tickle my neck.

'I think I know of an excellent way to relax' he whispered, sending shivers down my spine as he nibbled on my neck.

'Hmmm, indeed' I smiled, turning around and placing my lips against his, allowing our mouths to move in perfect synchronisation as he pulled me into his lap. I could feel his low growl, almost like a purr as I shifted on his lap and laughed at his response before claiming his mouth again in another earth shattering kiss. My attention had been completely focused until I heard a twig snap and a heartbeat, accompanied by the same scent that I had picked up on in the area that Finn had told us about earlier.

'Hello?' Edward called, pulling me slightly behind me as I rolled my eyes at his protectiveness.

'Who is it? Human?' I murmured and he shook his head.

'We won't hurt you' he called, peering into the woods as a breeze ruffled my clothes, bringing with it a fresh wave of the scent. It was quite the remarkable aroma, not mouth-watering like human but more like a naturally sweet scent that smelt like wild flowers and freshly cut grass.

'What are they thinking?' I whispered, curious to know why someone non-human would come close but not introduce themselves…perhaps they were just inquisitive or apprehensive, it would be understandable, we _were_ vampires after all.

'They're gone' he sighed, kissing me on the forehead as he turned around. 'They were wandering a few days ago and came across our scent, they became curious and have been watching us ever since. That was all I could gather'.

'Should we be worried? Are they hostile?' I asked as we walked back towards the house at a human pace.

'No' he smiled, shaking his head, 'I think they're mostly just curious about us, you know…the whole vegetarian thing can be quite confusing if all they've ever encountered are blood drinkers'.

'So what are they?' I asked excitedly.

'No idea, just know they're not human…unless you know a human that not only knows all about vampires but also has that same scent and can run off equally as fast a vampire?' he smirked.

'Do you think they'll actually introduce themselves?' I whispered as we approached the back of the house.

'Maybe, we'll just have to wait' he sighed, glancing up at the lightening sky. 'We've got classes soon, and the kids have school'.

We entered back in through the kitchen, almost everyone had gone off to do their own thing and I figured that Nessie had probably just slept here, Esme always kept a room made up for her if she wanted to spend the night and sure enough I could hear the slow and steady sounds of her deep breaths as she slept, quietly mumbling to herself in a way that was apparently like I had when I was human. I had to pull my senses away from the top floor though, I could hear the not so pleasant sounds of Alice and Jasper and judging by Maddie's slightly louder than necessary movements, she could too.

I lay down on the couch using Edward as a pillow, I still somewhat expected him to be cold beneath me even though I had been a vampire for quite a while now so our temperatures matched. I just guessed that I held on to those memories because back then I was a mere human who had their own guardian angel, it was so surreal that I found it difficult to forget that feeling even though my human mind had been so fuzzy compared to my now immortal clarity.

My world had changed completely all from one person. Thanks to him I had a large family, two children and an eternity with which to enjoy my happiness. I could deal with the surreal aspects of vampire abilities, werewolves, mermaids and elves.

My life was a fairy tale…and that was how I liked it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oooh I wonder what mythical creature has been watching them. Any guesses? Review please.**


	8. Peeping Tom

Chapter 8: Mystery POV

* * *

><p>'They saw you?' my brother gasped when I explained how I had come across two of the vampires by the lake, he rubbed his temples in thought and paced around our apartment, quietly whispering to himself. 'They didn't attack you did they sis?' he asked, his eyes wide as he scanned my skin for marks and I rolled my eyes at him.<p>

'Calm down Mal, do I look like I was attacked?' I sighed, pushing his hands off as they fluttered over my face. 'Besides, they only heard me and didn't see me. They said they wouldn't hurt me and seemed curious. One of them is a mind reader so I guess he knows that we've been watching them' I explained and he raised his eyebrow.

'A mind reader eh? Interesting, any other gifts?' he asked, following me into the kitchen.

'Well the woman with him, probably his mate judging by the way they were grinding on each other' I giggled, ignoring the pang I felt whenever I thought about couples in love, I wished I wasn't immortal, it made it difficult to find viable dates. 'She's a shield, a very powerful one at that and the young woman that we saw hunting is a teleporter which you already know' I shrugged.

'They really are quite powerful, are you sure they aren't part of that group of weird Italian vamps, you know, the Voltero or something' he asked as I made myself a sandwich.

'The Volturi Mal and no, I don't think so…their eyes are different, besides, don't you remember what great grandma told us? The Volturi got taken down by some coven a few years ago' I pointed out, taking a bite out of my sandwich and wrinkling my nose, the mustard was slightly out of date.

'Holy shit sis, I can't believe I forgot about that. Those Italian creeps were weird though weren't they, do you remember when the creepy little blonde girl chased us through Rome and tried to use her power on us then threw a tantrum when it wouldn't work' he laughed, stealing the other half of my sandwich as his brown eyes twinkled at the memory. It was quite the strange holiday; we had spent most of it trying to avoid the Volturi as they tried to figure out what we were.

'Yeah she was a piece of work all right, thank god I dampened her power or else you would have been crying like a little girl bro, it was a strong gift and I could tell that she was sadistic with it' I said, placing my plate in the sink and jumping up onto the counter as he continued to stuff food in his face, attacking the cookies I had baked this morning.

'So did you figure out why their eyes aren't red, I mean…they _are_ vampires aren't they Lil?' he asked through a mouthful of crumbs and I raised my eyebrow while I whipped the spray off my top.

'I thought about that, the only thing I can figure out is that maybe it's linked to their diet somehow. We haven't seen them feed off any humans all week and I've found several animals drained of blood. It's the first I've ever heard of vamps going against their nature apart from that guy that great gran told us about, it seems to make them more civilised compared to those assholes we've run into in the past' I explained and he looked pensive.

'So…do you think we should maybe meet them?' he asked and I shrugged.

'Maybe, I think we should just watch them a little more, I'm curious to find out who the leader is' I smiled, 'I'm also pretty sure I heard one of them mention school which is odd for vampires so I reckon you should follow them there, check to make sure that they don't go crazy and attack a bunch of kids or something' I sighed, hoping that it wouldn't be the case. I couldn't explain why but _something_ told me that these were good people, I just hoped that my instincts were right, they usually were.

* * *

><p>I sat quietly in my car and watched the tall blonde vampire come out of the house, pausing to kiss a beautiful and sweet looking woman tenderly on the lips as my heart constricted at the sight. I assumed this man was the leader of the vampire <em>coven<em> as people called it, he gave off the air of a leader I thought as I followed cautiously behind him as he drove towards the city, glad that my eyesight was good otherwise I would have lost him due to the distance I kept to keep from getting caught out. I inwardly moaned when he pulled up at the hospital, I had always hated them ever since before my immortality had kicked in when I was twenty.

Did he work here? Was he here to see someone or pick up blood to bring home to his vampire family? I followed him inside at a distance, walking with a slight limp so it appeared as I was here for medical reasons instead of reconnaissance.

'Good morning Dr Cullen' a young nurse gushed, I could hear her heart beat pick up and assumed she had a crush on him; he was indeed a handsome man. I had found that most vampires were unbelievably beautiful, something to do with attracting humans as their prey probably.

'Good morning Debrah' he smiled and I could almost hear her ovaries jumping in response. 'Do you have my patient list?' he asked, snapping her out of whatever fantasy she was probably having.

'Oh right, sorry Dr Cullen' she muttered, I could see her blushing furiously as I peered through the glass door. 'Here you go, you don't have any appointments for the next hour, should I send the files up to your office?' she asked.

'That would be very kind of you, thank you. If anyone needs me I'll be up in Oncology to check on my patients' he smiled before taking off towards the elevators.

I waited until he was in before quickly heading over to the stairs after finding out it was on the fourth floor and running up the empty stairs faster than a human so I could beat him there. I waited until he was out of the elevator and walking into the ward before I came out of the door, looking for a place to sit and observe. I noticed an empty seat by a bed that was occupied by a sleeping elderly gentleman, deciding to sit and read a magazine as if I were visiting him.

'Oh Carlisle, how nice to see you. How's Esme?' a woman's voice croaked, I peeked past my magazine and glanced over in their direction, spotting him settling himself on the edge of a patient's bed. She seemed to be very ill, though I supposed that was normal for a cancer ward and I felt sorry for her, the fragility of humans always saddened me. Though she was pale and sickly looking, she smiled brightly up at him and I found myself liking that he had such a good relationship with his patients, it made me more certain that they were trustworthy vampires…now that's an oxymoron.

'Oh she's wonderful, that pasta recipe you gave her was fantastic and she sends her thanks. She'll probably be down here later with more gossip' he chuckled, reading over her chart. 'How are you feeling Fiona?' he asked, concern seeping into his voice.

'Oh really good, yes…a lot better than yesterday' she said, coughing at the end and even I could hear the lie.

'Fiona…you need to be honest with me, I'm your doctor' he signed, pulling out his stethoscope and checking her heartbeat, even though he probably didn't need it. She slumped and rubbed her chest, letting out a shaky breath.

'Fine, I feel like shit. Happy now?' she grumbled and tried to laugh but it came out more like a wheeze. 'I'm getting worse aren't I?' she whispered and I could hear the resignation in her tone.

'It looks that way' he sighed, rubbing his forehead. 'We'll have to get more tests done but judging by yesterday's results…' he trailed off and I could have sworn I heard a sob that would have been invisible to a human, could vampires even cry?

'How much longer Carlisle? Just be honest with me' she sighed, looking up at him as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

'At most…about three months, it could be more…could be less' he whispered.

'You can't tell Eve' she gasped, grabbing his hand with both of her pale and thin ones, it looked like it took a lot of effort to make the movement. 'She's only just started being happy again, your family has made such a change in her life. She loves your niece so much and I can tell that she loves Jarrett too, even though she's too shy to admit it. You can't tell her, it'll just make her worry' she whispered, a tear trailing down her cheek as he clasped her hands in his own and sighed.

'You have to tell her eventually Fiona, she's nearly an adult now. It will just hurt so much more if you wait' he said and she slumped in defeat.

'I know, you're right…I just hate to see her so sad' she smiled shakily, letting go of his hands.

'I'm so sorry, of course…it's up to you, it was out of place for me to tell you and I apologise' he grimaced as she rolled her eyes.

'Carlisle don't be a moron' she wheezed, 'she loves you and she loves Esme, hell, she loves all of your family and so do I as a matter of fact. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you and Esme to keep me company in this hell hole' she chuckled weakly and I could see Carlisle's shoulders shaking as he silently laughed with her. 'Just promise me that when I'm…_gone_, you will keep an eye on her. Make sure she's okay' she whispered, imploring him with her eyes.

'Of course Fiona, I love her like a daughter and you know that my wife would probably murder me if I ever let anything happen to her' he smiled, patting her pale hand. 'Now how about we take some blood samples…don't pout' he chuckled when Fiona groaned, 'Or I'll have Hector hold you down again…or maybe you'd like that' he grinned and a small blush crept into her greyed cheeks as she glanced in the direction of a rugged looking Latino orderly who was changing the bed next to me. I quickly buried my face in the magazine as I felt the vampire's gaze slide from the orderly to me and I thought I caught a curious smile light his topaz eyes before turning back to Fiona.

That was my cue to leave so I made a show of whispering false goodbyes to the sleeping patient next to me and gathered my bag, heading at a human pace down the hallway and towards the elevators. I had a lot to think about; first there was the fact that none of these vampires drank human blood, which was unusual in itself, but add on top of that that they had the control to work as doctors or go to school surrounded by humans and not slip. It was really quite impressive and I found myself respecting these vampires, or Cullens I supposed, judging by the doctor's name…unless that was fake?

I climbed back into my car and sat there for a minute as I thought all of this over, they were actually friends with humans…and not just as a way to blend in or get meals. From the sounds of it his family were close to this woman's daughter, Eve I think. It was odd…never before had I thought that vampires would consider humans anything more than food, but this family confused me. I was brought out of my thoughts as I spotted another man, he looked to be about twentyish but he was wearing a backpack so he may be a high school student; he moved with unnatural grace and had the same beautifully pale skin as the rest of his family had so I could tell he was vampire, besides, I could hear that he had no pulse.

I had to control my heartbeat when he paused by the door, seeming to sniff the air for something. Oh crap, had he picked up on my scent? I knew that I wasn't appetising, just appealing to vampires and I hoped he would just pass it off as perfume or something. Unless they had picked up on my scent in the woods…he turned around slowly and I found my breathing had stopped as I looked at him fully.

He was perfect.

Not just in the flawless vampires way…there was just something about him that drew me to him and I found myself lost in the blue pools of his eyes, wait…blue? That can't be right. But sure enough, his eyes were a stunning blue as he ran his hands through his messy caramel hair, shrugging before turning around and heading through the doors, probably going to see that Carlisle dude.

I started my car and headed back home, confused about my reaction to the man who was not only a stranger but also a _vampire_ for crying out loud. Last vampire I had met had tried to make a snack out of me before Mal knocked his ass out, leaving him unconscious outside of the Volturi headquarters with a note that said he had been feeding off kids. He had, it was just my bad luck that he was feisty and tried to eat me when I stopped him from munching on a little girl before Mal could use his gift to knock him out.

'Hey sis, so what you find?' Mal asked when I walked in the door and headed towards the kitchen, I was starving.

'Well I followed the leader, Carlisle Cullen his name is, to the hospital where he's a doctor-' I began as I pulled some pasta out of the cupboard.

'Wait, he's a vampire doctor. Isn't that a bit risky, I mean all the blood and everything' he asked, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.

'I know right, that's what I thought. The smell of blood was almost overwhelming for me and I don't even drink blood, it didn't even faze him though. It seems that he's been a doctor for a while, maybe he just built up a tolerance' I shrugged.

'Wow, a vampire with an immunity to human blood, that's a first' he chuckled and I rolled my eyes.

'Yeah, tell me about it. They're fascinating. I was listening in while he talked with a patient, apparently they're friends. A vampire and a human, in fact her daughter…some girl named Eve, is best friends with his niece and nephew apparently. Did you see them at the school?' I asked, pouring him some juice.

'Yeah, some chick named Nessie and her brother Jay or something, I saw them at lunch with a human girl; I posed as a student looking to possibly transfer so I could check them out. If you ask me I reckon that Jay and Eve have a thing for each other, I could practically taste the lust in the air' he chuckled, wriggling his eyebrows.

'So what you find out?' I asked, sipping my orange juice.

'Well there are six of them who go to the school' he said, furrowing his brow. 'Zack, Maddy, Nessie, Jay, Finn and Elsie' he sighed, the last came out with a huge grin and I raised my eyebrow at him.

'_Elsie_ eh? If I didn't know you any better I'd say you had a crush on a vampire bro' I laughed, _hypocrite_ I thought, when the image of the gorgeous young man from the hospital came to my mind.

'Oh man you should've seen her; she makes every woman in the world look like a piece of crap' he sighed, 'she's beautiful and oh she rides a Ducati for crying out loud. She has violet eyes though which is weird, they're all pretty weird actually' he murmured, the love struck glaze leaving his eyes as he turned more serious.

'Yeah I noticed that, one of them came to the hospital just I was leaving, he had blue eyes' I explained and he nodded, tapping his chin.

'That must have been either Zack or Finn; those guys both had blue eyes. Then there's that Nessie chick, I thought it might have been just the fact that there were so many humans around playing tricks on my hearing but I could have sworn she had a heartbeat. She smelt slightly different too…more human' he frowned and I looked at him pensively.

'Do you think it's possible they have a human living with them?' I asked and he shook his head, 'no she's definitely something in between, though I'm starting to think that it's a possibility that they would be able to cope with living with a human. They're remarkably resistant to blood. Some guy got a nose bleed in the middle of cafeteria, right next to them, and they didn't even bat an eyelid at it. Now I've seen vamps that are hundreds of years old go ape shit over a paper cut so I really have to give it to them for their self-control' he smiled, I couldn't help but agree with him…this family was one of a kind.

'So you think they can be trust worthy?' I asked and he shrugged, dropping his glass in the sink.

'Yeah, they seem like decent people…for vampires. I'm curious about the strange scent around them, almost like shifters or something. Which is strange, but I wouldn't be surprised at this point' he chuckled then started hopping up and down excitedly. 'So when can we meet them?' he practically yelled and I rolled my eyes.

'You just want to meet that Elsie chick you pervert' I laughed, ducking when he threw a muffin at me.

'Can you really blame me, I _have_ been single for the last sixty five years' he moaned and I giggled, most people would call him a monk by now.

'How about we make first contact this weekend? I have a feeling that they're definitely onto us now, they've got to be curious at the least' I shrugged and he grinned, rubbing his hands together anticipatorily.

'I can't wait' he drawled, a slight hint of his southern twang coming out. It had been forty years since we'd been in Mississippi but he was still a yokel. I laughed and put my dishes in my sink, trying to think of ways to while away the night time hours, it got boring not being able to sleep anymore, another disadvantage of immortality.

'Where you going sis?' Mal called from his seat on the sofa, he was settling in for a night of relentless action movies.

'For a run, bored' I sighed and he shrugged before turning his attention back to the television as I headed out the door, closing it softly behind me.

I don't know why, but I felt my body trying to lead me back to the large house near the lake, where I knew that the vampires would all be home from school or work or whatever it was that vampires did during the daylight hours. I mentally chastised myself when I realised that I had once again circled around it, deciding to put off the inevitable as I settled myself high up in a tree to watch them.

I'd have to be careful with the mind reader though, maybe if I could just dull his ability slightly so he couldn't pick me up, but not so much that he'd notice. I frowned in concentration while I searched through the gifts and felt my pulse speed at my discovery. I'd never been around them all before so I was only now getting a full read on all the abilities…holy shit! They had a psychic, a mind reader, a shield, and empath, a teleporter, a technophile, a mind sharer, another mind reader and I was guessing more that were out judging by the spatters of conversation about someone named Eric and some others who lived elsewhere.

I quickly dampened both of the mind readers before they noticed my prodding; now they shouldn't be able to hear me but would hopefully not notice what was happening. I smiled in triumph when five minutes passed and no one came out to demand answers from me so I leant against the bark of the tree as I settled in to watch their activities, even more curious than before as to what these remarkable vamps got up to.

'Mom, I'm going round Jake's, have you seen my keys?' a girls voice rang out and I raised my eyebrow. Mom, that was strange…was their family so close that they thought of each other as daughters or brothers and sisters or had the vampires found a way to get around not being able to have children. I was becoming more and more intrigued.

'Yes Nessie, you left them by the door. Don't be too late, you still have school tomorrow' a woman's voice called.

'And don't think I won't know if you don't behave yourself young lady. Your aunt Leah has assured me that she will be keeping an eye on you two to make sure things don't get too…_heated_' a man's voice called out, I could hear the protectiveness in his tone and vaguely recognised the voice from the other night, perhaps it was the mind reader.

'And don't think about sneaking around behind her back Ness, you know what would happen if you piss off a pregnant werewolf' a boys voice laughed and the girl, Nessie, grumbled to herself as she headed out the door.

Werewolf? I didn't think they would be like actual werewolves, I had seen one once and I didn't wish to repeat the experience. Perhaps they were talking about shifters like my great grandmother had told me about, perhaps the form of a wolf. It could explain why this Nessie girl had a heartbeat and smelt different; she could be shifter as well. But it wouldn't explain why she had vampire _parents_ so to speak.

I was becoming increasingly more confused by the minute.

'Hey' came a voice from right next to me on the branch.

'What the fu-' I gasped, tumbling out of the tree and hurtling toward the ground. Cold strong arms caught me and I looked up to see a pair of blue eyes looking at me, glittering with controlled laughter.

'Has anyone ever told you it's rude to sneak up on people? Damn! I could have broken my neck you stupid vamp' I hissed, glancing over to the house to check that no one had noticed. Thankfully the huge vampire guy who appeared to be married to the blonde woman was busy throwing a loud tantrum over something so no one had noticed my little accident.

'Has anyone ever told you that it's rude to sit in trees and spy on people?' he chuckled, his voice was wonderfully melodic and he made the words seem like music in the air. 'So you know I'm a vampire, what are you? Apart from a Peeping Tom that is…' he grinned and I had to shake myself out of my daze that his smile put me in.

'Well maybe I don't wanna tell you' I smiled and I began to walk away from the house, knowing that he would follow.

'No fair missy, at least tell me your name. I _did_ save your life after all' he laughed and I rolled my eyes.

'Lil' I huffed, 'that's all your getting from me vamp boy, why are your eyes blue…as a matter of fact, your whole family is weird. What's that all about? And what's your name?' I asked as he raised his eyebrow.

'Finn' he grinned, 'and that's all your getting from me voyeur girl' he smiled, turning my own words back on me, I found it relatively easy to laugh with him, even though he was a vampire. 'So are you planning on at least telling me why you've been spying on my family?' he asked.

'Maybe I'm a vampire slayer or something, you know…Buffy style' I shrugged and he rolled his eyes.

'First of all that show was ridiculous, how absurd do those vampires look when they get all blood lusty…it's insulting' he grimaced and I snorted. Yup, _snorted_. That's very feminine Lil, good going!

'Hey, I've seen you guys when you go ape shit over blood, you hardly look normal' I laughed and he looked at me curiously but I waved him off. 'Anyway, to answer your question…I was curious. I've never come across a single vampire who goes against their need for human blood before, let alone an entire coven, and a powerful one at that. It intrigued me' I smiled and he chuckled.

'Well we aim to please' he shrugged, 'you do realise you could of…I dunno, asked us about our lifestyle instead of hiding in a tree like some delusional hippy' he said, raising an eyebrow.

'Where would the fun be in that?' I asked, 'besides, I had to be sure you weren't just another bunch of human drinkers who were going through a phase. Also, I found you all interesting; it was like watching a soap opera. Question…who's the big guy and why on earth does he get in so many fights?' I asked, generally curious as to how a vampire who had the self-control to refrain from drinking from humans would whine like a little girl when his brother beat him at a video game.

'Oh, Emmett! Big guy, curly dark hair, looks like a giant bear?' he asked and I nodded. 'He's just Emmett, he gets competitive and loves a fight, it doesn't help that Jasper is as childish as him sometimes' he laughed and shook his head from side to side. 'Luckily his wife Rose calms him down a lot, though you should see her when you mess with her hair…not something you want to be on the receiving end of…trust me' he grimaced and I snorted _again_.

'She's the gorgeous blonde one right?' I asked and he nodded, gesturing over to an old log to sit on. 'So how many people are in your family?' I asked, trying to think of the one's I'd already spotted.

'Well there's me, my mom and dad, my brother Edward and his wife Bella with their kids Nessie and Jay. Then there's my brother Emmett with his wife Rosalie and their kids Zack and Elsie, my sort of sister Alice and her husband Jasper and their daughter Maddy' he explained and I struggled to keep up, even with my immortal brain power, 'they're technically my adopted brothers and sisters but I think of them as more like aunts and uncles, but their kids are all the same age as me roughly so I see them more like my siblings. It's complicated I know' he chuckled.

'So is that it?' I asked, mentally placing the names to the faces I had spotted.

'No, there's also our extended family' he grinned, 'our cousins in Alaska, Rose's adopted father Anthony, his wife Paige and their daughter Penny. Bella's best friend Angela and her husband Nahuel, Nessie's boyfriend Jacob and his friend Seth with his mate Nelle, his sister Leah and her husband Eric, also Eric's sister Katlyn and her husband Thomas…'he trailed off, counting in his head. 'We have others we see as friends but those are the ones we really see as family' he shrugged and laughed and my open mouth.

'Wow…that's a lot of people, and just your family' I gasped, blinking away my surprise. I knew for a fact they were all powerful too, and that was just the ones I had encountered, I dreaded to think what other gifts these vamps would have.

'This would probably be a lot easier if you came by the house. You seem to have a lot of questions and my dad is the best to answer them. He's the one you saw at the hospital, I'd recognise that scent anywhere, it's like freshly cut grass and flowers' he grinned and I swear I felt myself blush for the first time in twenty years. 'Do you live nearby? If you want you can come back and talk to him' he suggested and the words rang in my head. Live…nearby…shit, home! Mal will probably be tearing his hair out wandering where I was.

'I'm sorry Finn, I have to go. My brother's gonna be worried sick' I rushed, jumping up and nearly falling over before he steadied me. He looked a little sad for some reason but I wrote it off as my imagination, why would he be sad?

'Oh…right. Okay, well. Will I see you again Lil?' he asked and I noticed that he was still holding onto my hand from when he steadied me. It felt nice, not at all shocking and unnaturally cold with other vampires, more like an addictive current against my palm. He noticed where I was looking and released my hand quickly, smiling apologetically while my skin just screamed for his touch again. What was wrong with me, I can't be that hormonal can I? I coped for the last sixty two years I can deal with a little longer for crying out loud. I needed to pull myself together.

'Yeah, my brother and I were planning on revealing ourselves to your family this weekend, could you maybe not tell them about it until we introduce ourselves. My brother wants to surprise them because he's a big child and gets off on jumping out and saying _boo_' I said, rolling my eyes. I wasn't even exaggerating, Mal really _did_ want our first meeting to go that way and I knew he'd moan if he knew I'd ruined his fun.

'Sure, I'll try…I'm just warning you though, it's hard to get anything past Edward, Alice and Jay' he shrugged and I chuckled.

'Oh don't worry about the mind readers and the psychic' I said, laughing at his shocked expression. I had put two and two together and figured out he was talking about the one's with gifts I had sensed. 'Let's just say they'll be having a few glitches around you for the next few days' I said, winking.

'But…what?' he muttered, looking adorably confused as he ran his hands through his caramel hair.

'All will be explained in due time vamp boy' I grinned, impulsively kissing him lightly on the cheek before jogging off and turning around. 'I'll see you soon' I grinned, laughing at his frozen expression before disappearing through the trees and back towards home.

It was weird…I already missed him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So there it was…Mal and Lil, who are they? I based Mal on a younger version of Captain Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly because…let's face it, he's awesome! So we know they're immortal and not insane…much. I love giving clues :D Review please.**


	9. Poltergeist

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, tis property of Stephanie Meyer. The new characters are from my mind vault though.**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: It has been a long time my pretties, well…long in my head. I still have really bad writers block, it's as if I can actually feel the words at the back of my mind but they won't come out. It's frustrating so I apologise for the delays. I'll let you know when my creative juices begin flowing again : )**

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Jay's POV<p>

* * *

><p>'So…is there a reason why you're so anxious to get to school?' Nessie smirked when I glared at her for eating her breakfast so damn slowly.<p>

'No, I just don't like being late that's all' I shrugged.

_I'm not buying it bro. Let me guess, does this excitement have something to do with a certain lady called Eve per chance? _She thought smugly, laughing at my frustrated expression when she finally placed her bowl in the sink with exaggerated slowness.

'So you really like her eh?' she whispered as we climbed into my car, I gave a pointed look but nodded anyway, sighing in defeat.

'Yes I really like her Ness, more than I could ever be able to describe. She's perfect' I sighed as we drove down the road.

'Then why don't you grow a pair and tell her you moron?' she groaned, rolling her eyes at me and smiling. 'You know for a fact that she likes you, why haven't you made a move?'

'Who am I kidding Ness, I'm a vampire for crying out loud!' I ground out.

'So what? Do you really think she'll care? She's not like other people Jay, she's strong like mom. I love her too, she my best human friend and I want to see you both happy' she smiled, patting me on the shoulder.

'But what if she freaks out? I mean, I know I won't hurt her; I don't have the same problem with bloodlust as dad had…but the word _vampire_ hardly inspires a feeling of safety does it?' I moaned, frowning as we neared the school.

'You need to give Eve more credit brother dearest' she smiled, glancing over to where Eve was waving at us from the other side of the parking lot. 'Just make the move okay, it'll be worth it in the end…trust me' she grinned, climbing out and skipping over to Eve who smiled a beautiful smile and hugged her.

_Oh he looks unbelievable today…stop thinking like that; he's your friend Eve. I wish he would see me __that__ way, sometimes I swear I can see a flicker of something else but he's probably thinking about some other girl…_she thought regretfully and a small scowl formed on my lips. I could never see any of these boring and silly girls in that way, not only did they pale in comparison to Eve's natural beauty but they were also so…bitchy.

'Hey Jay' she smiled, when I hugged her in greeting, trying to be subtle when I inhaled her scent. The look on Nessie's face as she rolled her eyes told me that I was being pretty obvious though.

'Hey Eve, how's it hanging?' I grinned as she raised her eyebrow at me.

'Seriously, that is almost twenty years old. You need to come up with some new phrases Jay' she laughed and I couldn't help but beam like an idiot at the sound of her harmonious laughter.

We went into our separate classes and I found myself missing her already, I was barely able to concentrate on the lessons, though that didn't really matter because if I was asked a question I could just pick the answer out of the teachers head…besides, I already knew all this stuff. I was glaring out at the rain outside, wondering how many seconds were left until the bell would ring and I could go to lunch, when a nudge on my hand brought me out of my reverie. It was strange, I sat by myself in this class…the other students instinctively gave me space, even though some of the girls would fantasise in disgusting ways.

'_Hey grumpy guts…what's got you down?' _The writing had seemed to have just appeared on my notebook and I furrowed my brow in confusion before I noticed the creepy teens over on the other side of the classroom and a thought struck me.

'Nelle?' I murmured, too low for anyone to hear but her if she was here.

'_The one and only! You can call me the friendly ghost. Now are you going to tell me what's got you looking so glum?' _

'Nothing Casper, just feeling a bit bored' I whispered to the air where I figured she might be, though when she was invisible it was impossible to sense her in any way, not even her thoughts.

'_Eve'_

That one word and I sighed deep and low, rubbing my temples. 'How did you guess?'

'_It's pretty obvious Jay bird, I see the way you look at her and how she looks at you. I'm pretty sure you're mates. Why don't you just go for it?'_ she wrote and I rolled my eyes.

'It's not that simple Nelle, not everyone can have the magical instantaneous bond that you and Seth had, besides, she's fully human and you're only half. It wasn't like you would have ever been scared of Seth because he was a werewolf' I murmured.

'_I was scared'_

That last note shocked me, you would never have thought that Nelle would have been freaked out by Seth's shifting genes, she seemed to love his wolf form and I figured that she could sense my surprise because I felt another nudge on my hand.

'_Don't misunderstand me Jay bird; I was scared when I first heard about the wolves from the Amazon coven…who wouldn't be? But once I met Seth, I just didn't care at all, I saw past the unease of him being something different and unknown and looked at the man behind the myth. It was the same with your mother, she had heard about vampires so obviously if she had met Edward and he would have hissed and turned into bat she would have been scared. But despite the fact that he wanted to eat her and she knew what he was…she saw past it and loved him, accepting the 'monster' inside of him' _

I chuckled slightly at the image of my dad as a stereotypical Dracula type and raised my eyebrows at the paper.

'So you're saying that she'll love me even though I…you know, _drink blood_' I whispered.

'_Let me ask you this…would YOU love HER if she was a vampire and you were human?'_

'Yes but-'I was cut off by an invisible hand over my mouth.

'_Would you ever hurt her?' _I shook my head vehemently.

'_You love her?' _I nodded and rolled my eyes as if it were obvious.

'_And do you think she's the type of person to shun someone based solely on one part of them?_' I raised my eyebrow. It wasn't as if I was hiding that I had an extra toe, this was a _huge_ part of my life.

'_Just answer the question Jay, think past the fear of rejection and that stupid paranoia you apparently inherited off your dad and actually think about it'_ she wrote and I felt the hand lift off my face and pat me gently on the cheek.

I thought back on all the times over the past couple of weeks when the idea of us being supernatural had flickered across her mind, all the times when she would catch sight of something in the corner of her eye and consider the possibility. I had never heard fear in her mind, and I had to admit that it was all me, I was too focused on my own worries that I was pushing her away and she could feel it. _I was an idiot_. Yeah sure she would freak out a little bit but who wouldn't? I knew that she was the type of person who really _would_ see past it. I figured my face must have shown my revelation because I felt a firm pat on my hand and looked down again.

'_That's right moron, took you long enough! Now the bell is about to go so I suggest you take her round the back of the gym after lunch and show her the business….if you know what I mean' _she wrote and thankfully my laugh was stifled by the sound of the bell. I felt her hug me, which was weird seeing as she was still invisible, and figured she followed the two vampire groupies out.

'What's got you looking so happy?' Elsie asked as I sat down at the table, still chuckling.

'Oh Nelle was entertaining me in Physics, she just helped me realise something' I smiled to myself as Finn sat down.

'Oh you mean the whole fact that you've been acting like a girl around Eve for absolutely no reason…and you've only just realised that? Jeez, I thought being a mind reader made you smarter' he grinned, ducking when I threw one of the fries that I had bought for appearances at his face.

'So are you going to stop being a big baby now?' Elsie smirked and I rolled my eyes and shrugged.

'I figure why the hell not? I shouldn't have to hold back from being with someone just because I'm paranoid she'll run away screaming. Besides, it's not like I'll be telling her straight away' I sighed and felt a slap on the back of my head.

'That's what I've been saying for the past two weeks you dork!' Nessie hissed, sitting down next to Elsie. 'Now shut up, she's coming over' she smiled, winking.

* * *

><p>'Hey, do you want a lift to the hospital today. It's raining pretty heavily' I pointed out as me and Eve exited the school doors, pulling our coats over our heads against the downpour.<p>

'Thanks Jay, you're a lifesaver' she smiled, 'I'd probably drown in a puddle or something if I tried to walk it' she chuckled and I laughed with her at the image.

'You could always swim?' I suggested and she rolled her eyes.

'Well shit, I only went and forgot my swimsuit. It looks like I'll have to be driven in your nice cosy warm car. What a pain!' she said sarcastically while raising her eyebrow.

'Life's a bitch' I shrugged, before running beside her towards the car and helping her in before I was able to dive in myself. I noticed through the water clogged windshield that Nessie was getting into Zack's car so she had probably guessed that I'd be driving Eve to the hospital again.

'So how's your mum doing?' I asked as we drove through the waterfall of rain, if I wasn't a vampire it would be downright hazardous.

'Not good' she sighed sadly, fiddling with her hands. 'Apparently the treatments aren't working anymore and she's getting weaker…they say it's only a matter of time' she sobbed slightly and I reached out to clasp her hand as I parked outside the hospital.

'Look, I know it's not any of my business but I'm here for you okay. You don't need to make yourself suffer because I'm sticking around, even if you don't want me to' I smiled gently, wiping a tear from her cheek.

'C-can you come in with me?' she whispered and was shocked for a second. 'Only if you want to…it's just she said she wanted to meet you and she met Nessie and Carlisle and Esme and-'I cut off her rambling with a grunt.

'Yes I will come with you, I was just shocked that you would want me up there' I smiled and she raised her eyebrow at me.

'Why would I not want you there, you've made me so happy…' she began before a blush rose in her cheeks. _Idiot idiot idiot, you sound like a love sick puppy, great job Eve! _'I mean um you and your family have made me so happy. I want you to meet her. You…'re all so important to me' she mumbled and I chuckled under my breath at her shyness.

'Come on then, from what I've heard about your mom she'll have my guts for garters if I make you late' I smiled, opening the door so I could go around and help her out of her side, ignoring the rain that pelted down on me as we walked into the hospital, I felt warm when she unconsciously leaned into my side and allowed me to place my arm around her shoulders, though I knew she mainly just needed comfort.

'Hey mom' she smiled brightly, though I could see the strain in her expression. 'How are you feeling?' she asked, sitting down on her mother's bed as I hovered self-consciously in the background, unsure as to what to do.

'Fine, just a bit tired and sick, nothing more than usual' she croaked, closing one of her pale hands over Eve's. I could almost sense the death coming from her, it was agonisingly obvious that she didn't have long left to live and I felt a wave of sadness wash through me as I watched Eve stroke her mother's fragile arm. Her mother's soft blue eyes looked towards me and they looked so youthful in comparison to her physical state as she looked me up and down. _Oh my, he is handsome isn't he, this must be Jay…_

'Oh mum, this is Jay, the person I told you about. Nessie's brother' she smiled, gesturing for me to come and sit in the chair by them.

'Oh boy Eve, you didn't tell me what a knock out he was, I can see good looks run in the family' she smiled weakly and Eve blushed.

'Mom!' she hissed, shooting me an embarrassed look and rolling her eyes. 'Sorry Jay, I think it's the medication' she lied; I knew her mom was just one of those rare people who always spoke what they were thinking. It was refreshing.

'Yeah yeah honey, it's the medicine' her mom chuckled, winking at me and causing Eve to groan. 'So you're the young man who's made such an impression on my girl' she smiled and I could hear Eve chanting _shut up shut up shut up shut up_ in her mind as she blushed furiously.

'The one and only, unless there's some other devilishly handsome young scoundrel whose been wooing you' I asked wiggling my eyebrows theatrically as she groaned and rolled her eyes.

'Thanks mom, now he's going to go off on how great he is and how I'm honoured to be in his presence' she grinned and I feigned hurt at her accusation.

'As if I would ever do such a thing' I gasped, laughing with her mom as she raised her eyebrow.

_He's such a lovely young man. I think she's underestimated how much he likes her; it's pretty obvious that he's as much head over heels as she is. I'm just glad she found someone before I…_

'Honey…could I talk to you alone for a second?' she croaked and Eve nodded apprehensively, sending me an apologetic look as I stood up and nodded, going to sit outside in the waiting room even though I would be able to hear their entire conversation.

'Yes mom?' she asked when they had the illusion of privacy.

'Okay sweetie I don't want you to freak out, but I got some test results back this morning…' she whispered and I could hear Eve's intake of breath as her heart began to race.

'Wh-what did they say?' she murmured, the dread clear in her thoughts.

'Three months' she croaked and I could hear the tears in her voice as Eve began sobbing. It took all I had not to run back in there and hold her; the steel arms of the chair I was on were becoming warped as I gripped onto them.

'Momma' she wailed, reverting back to the name she probably used during childhood. 'You..c-can't leave me a-alone' she sobbed, her breaths coming out in short bursts.

'Oh child you're not alone, you'll never be alone' her mother cooed to her. 'You have your grandmother and she loves you, your friends will be there for you as well' she whispered. 'I want you to promise me something though' she wheezed and I heard Eve wipe her tears and gulp.

'Yes?' she whispered.

'I don't want you to push people away Evelyn, I want you to live and take chances and love and be loved. Don't bottle up your feelings, just be happy…promise me' she croaked.

'I don't think I'll ever be happy without you' Eve whispered, I could almost feel her sadness and fear.

'Yes you will, it will take time. You won't be able to get there alone, that's why I want you to be brave' her mom whispered and I heard her place a gentle kiss against Eve's skin. 'I'm sorry I have to leave you when your life is just beginning. But I love you, you know that. I'll always be there for you' she yawned, I could feel the fatigue in her mind and her thoughts were becoming slower and more fragmented as sleep threatened to take over her.

'Mom, go to sleep okay…you're tired' she whispered, kissing her gently and sighing, 'I love you so much'.

She sobbed once before I heard her climb off the bed and adjust the covers, picking up her backpack as her footsteps raced down the ward towards me. I stood and waited for her, unsure as to how to show my face without giving away the fact that I had heard everything. She glanced up and saw me, her pale skin covered in fresh tear tracks as she ran towards me, hurling herself into my arms and sobbing into my chest as I wrapped my arms around her.

'Shhhh love' I whispered as I stroked her hair, holding her tight to me. She looked up into my face with an unfathomable look in her eyes as I wiped the tears from her cheeks before kissing her softly on the forehead.

_Love….did he just call me-oh I don't know my mind is a mess. I can't see my grandma right now…too many questions, I just want peace, but I don't want to be alone…what do I do?_

'Do you want to go to the lake?' I asked as we walked back outside, 'we can talk or not talk….we can just think or skip rocks, whatever you want' I smiled softly as she wiped her eyes.

'That would be nice, I just want some quiet right now' she whispered as we approached my car, it had stopped raining now but the puddles where still there, I almost stepped in one in an attempt to keep her from drenching herself absent mindedly.

'I can just drop you off somewhere if you want some alone time…I know how hard it can be to-' she cut me off by grabbing my jacket, stopping me a few feet from the car.

'I…can't be alone right now. Can you stay with me? I know it's a big favour but '-

'You don't even need to ask Eve, of course I'll stay with you, as long as you want' I smiled gently at her and helped her into the car.

The drive was silent on the short journey back towards my home, I gestured for her to wait as I ran into the house, coming back out with a blanket and one of my thick fleece jumpers. She didn't realise it but she was dangerously close to becoming ill due to a combination of the rain and emotional distress. She smiled weakly and pulled the jumper on, sniffing cautiously at it and sighing in a peculiar way as we headed towards the trees that led to the lake shore.

_Dad, if you can hear me could you ask that no one disturb us. Eve isn't in a very good place right now and she needs some space._

I mentally sent the message to my dad, knowing that he should be able to hear me, even though I couldn't hear him.

_You father got your message son, will she be okay?_ My mom's soothing voice rang out in my mind; she was using her shield to project a response because I couldn't hear their thoughts from here.

_Yeah she just needs to let it sink in._ I replied, knowing that my dad would give the message to Esme and the others.

'She's dying Jay' Eve whispered as I lay the blanket down and gestured for her to sit.

'How long?' I asked, even though I already knew. She needed to say it out loud to come to terms with it.

'Three months…three months and I'm going to lose my mom' she whimpered as I pulled her into a hug. 'How am I going to survive Jay…I'll be alone' she whispered and I lifted her chin up to face me.

'You'll never be alone; as long as I live I will be there for you. You have to know that' I assured her, letting the truth of my words show through my eyes so she would know I was unwavering in my promise.

'That's a big promise to make to someone you've only known for about two and a half weeks' she sighed, looking back down.

'Time doesn't mean anything in my family, I feel like I've known you for a century or more' I smiled and she chuckled sadly.

'Is it pathetic that I think the exact same thing? It's weird, I feel like you and your family are a part of me' she sighed and I raised my eyebrow.

'So it's normal for me to say I've known you for a hundred years but apparently pathetic if you do. Hell woman, haven't you heard of double standards?' I asked.

'Whatever' she sighed as she played with the edge of the blanket. 'I'm going to miss her you know…' she choked, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

'It would be strange if you didn't. I know I'm gonna miss her and I only just met her. She's a remarkable woman' I smiled and she beamed proudly.

'Did you know she goes to Las Vegas to compete in the poker tournaments they have there?' she asked and I feigned ignorance as I shook my head, enjoying the way her eyes lit up when she talked about her mother in a happy way.

'She any good?' I asked and she rolled her eyes.

'I think she's single handedly paying for all of her medical bills by fleecing the hospital staff. Did you know the first time I met Carlisle, that day you gave me a lift, he gave her a thousand dollars that he owed her!' she gasped, her eyes wide and I chuckled. I knew there was no way to beat a vampire at poker, we had absolutely no tells and could hear your heartbeat quicken if you were bluffing. Plus the whole enhanced vision thing allowed for us to spot what cards the other person has reflected off any semi-shiny surface across the room. I had a feeling that my grandfather had probably purposefully lost to her, wanting to help out with the medical treatment without it looking like he was taking pity on her or showing favouritism.

'No way!' I laughed, 'your mum sounds fun' I sighed.

'Yeah, I'll miss her' she whispered then looked at me worriedly for a second. 'Does it make me a bad person that I'm kind of happy to know when it's going to happen and that it's not long' she gulped, tears once again threatening to fall and I could hear the guilt in her mind. If I wasn't a mind reader that question would have shocked me, but I easily understood what she was getting at.

'No, not at all' I smiled sadly and rubbed her arm, 'she's gone through a lot of pain and I can understand that it is a relief to put an end of the uncertainty of not knowing whether she would live or die. I also know that your mom is somewhat happy to know that the pain will end soon' I whispered, 'that doesn't make you a bad person. It just means that you love her so much that you can't bear to see her in pain. I know that's what I would feel if my mom were in her place.'

'Thank you, I don't know why but I feel better around you' she sighed into my chest and I chuckled.

'I told you, it's because I'm awesome' I laughed and she slapped me on the arm.

'Shut up! Jeez, I swear sometimes you are such a moron' she giggled softly and I was simply happy to see her smile again. 'It really is beautiful here' she sighed, turning to look at the lake while I just watched her face.

'It really is' I smiled, watching the remaining light from the sun dance off her skin.

'Why do you do that?' she asked and I tilted my head in question.

'What?' I asked, genuinely curious because she wasn't actually thinking of it.

'Stare at me…it makes me think, nevermind…' she mumbled, blushing slightly.

'I stare because you're beautiful' I shrugged and she rolled her eyes.

'Very funny Jay' she moaned.

'No seriously…I like you Eve. I was just being a moron by not telling you' I sighed.

_Yeah as a friend, always as a friend. Story of my life, bloody stupid men. Why couldn't I just look like Elsie or Nessie or something…as if he would ever- _I cut off her trail of thought by placing my hands on her cheeks and kissing her softly, smiling when I felt her blush against my palms. She didn't stop me though and I inhaled her sweet breath as we deepened the kiss, keeping it slow and gentle as I pulled her closer to my body and wound one of my hands in her hair, allowing the other to delicately trail down her back.

'What…wh-what was that for?' she blushed when we pulled apart, her eyes were gleaming and she looked shocked but happy.

'I told you' I smiled softly, 'I like you…more than like you. You're stuck in my head like a Spice Girls song, but in a good way' I chuckled.

'You're shitting me?' she gasped and I rolled my eyes.

'How romantic, I proclaim my feelings and give you my first kiss and you swear at me' I muttered.

'Sorry, wait…first kiss you mean you haven't…' she trailed off and I smiled sheepishly.

'Nope, you're the first girl I've ever been interested in, and I have to say you've done a great job an entrancing me young lady' I grinned and she blushed again.

_I can't believe it. He wants me? But…how? I know he's telling the truth though, I don't know why but I just know that he really does feel the same for me as I do for him…how is it possible?_

'Since when, is it just because of today…' she frowned, her previous happiness ebbing away as she considered that I was doing this somehow out of pity for her. I growled softly and pinched above my nose in frustration.

'No, never think that. I want to be with you because it literally hurts to be away from you' I pleaded with my eyes and clasped her hands, 'you can even ask my sister or cousins, they've been trying to get me to admit it to you for ages' I sighed and was relieved when I saw that she had felt the sincerity of my words and was smiling again.

'Why didn't you tell me?' she asked curiously.

'I was afraid you'd reject me' I shrugged, it was a part truth, I had known that she liked me as well but it was the human facade she knew. I had been afraid she would reject me as a vampire until Nelle had made me realise that I was being stupid, only time would tell how she would react and I couldn't keep pushing her away just because of my own insecurities.

'ME reject YOU?' she laughed, narrowing her eyes at me. 'You should know that I wanted to be with you since the moment I saw you' she smiled, stroking my lips with her thumb.

'Was it the gym shorts?' I asked.

'Yes Jay, it was the gym shorts' she sighed, 'I have a fetish for athletic wear, it's why I'm banned from Footlocker' she laughed, rolling her eyes. 'No it wasn't the shorts dumbass, it was what was inside the shorts' she smiled, her eyes widening when she realised how that had sounded and I hunched over laughing.

'Why Eve, you sly minx' I laughed, even though I didn't need air I was still having difficulty breathing.

'No-th-that's not what I meant' she stuttered, her cheeks turning a darker shade of crimson as she buried her face in her hands. 'I just meant that I liked you for you, you're the first real person I've met in a while. You're so caring a sweet and funny and you actually want to be with me, though that may point towards mental instability' she chuckled and I rolled my eyes. 'It also helped that you're very handsome' she grinned and shrugged.

'Wow, you managed to compliment me and call me mentally unstable in the same sentence' I smiled. 'I'm not insane, is it so unbelievable that I fell for a beautiful, kind, sweet and generous girl' I murmured as I traced circles on her hand.

She was about to interrupt me with another of her self-conscious comments when I silenced her with a deep and tender kiss, pulling her into my lap and smiling softly when she gasped against my lips. The heat of her was intoxicating as we kissed each other passionately for what felt like hours and I had to remember that she was human and therefore needed to breathe so I released her before she suffocated. She grinned up at me and took some deep breaths and I placed another quick kiss against her lips before finishing my argument.

'Plus you have great cans'.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: You like? The plot will be picking up speed pretty soon, ooh there's some insanity coming I assure you. Review please.**


	10. Lisa

**A/N: I know I know I know this chapter has been a loooonnggg time in the making but I had a horrible combination of writer's block and some stress at home but hopefully my writing will be back on track soon. Enjoy anyway.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Nelle POV:<p>

* * *

><p>I had been following these weirdos these for ages, it was ridiculous. I was glad that they couldn't hear my laughter because I almost lost it half of the time whenever they thought they were alone and would let the façade drop slightly. It appeared that they were trying <em>really<em> hard to appear mysterious and vampire like and as a result they were all hiding from each other the fact that they were still eating and sleeping. I was currently trapped in the stairway with them listening to them drone on about immortality...I was frustrated to say the least.

'Lisa, stop complaining. You're the one who wanted to be a part of this so just deal with it' the tall guy who I had found out was called Ethan hissed at the short curly haired girl.

'But I just don't think th-' she whispered only to be cut off by the dark haired girl, Hannah.

'It doesn't matter what you think, this is a part of what it takes to be one of us' she spat, gripping her arms and forcing her to look at her. I could tell that this Lisa girl was unhappy but what could I do? I couldn't exactly make my presence unknown.

'O-okay Hannah…I'm sorry' she apologised, slumping slightly when the girl released her.

'Do you want our leader to find out that you're having these doubts? You know she will…she always knows' whispered a shorter guy with ash coloured hair.

'No…I'm sorry Adam, I just panicked for a second. It was stupid. I respect our leader and want to please her' she gulped as they all nodded in acceptance.

'Good. Now we need to go, we don't want to be late and we still need to pick up a…_gift_ for her' Ethan smirked, standing up from the step he was sitting on as the bell went signalling the end of school. Lisa swallowed loudly and her heartbeat went slightly haywire as she stood up and silently followed them outside towards the car park.

'Guys, I'm just going to the toilet, I'll meet you at the car' she smiled shakily, heading off down the hallway towards the bathroom, the school was emptying fast as everyone swarmed out in a rush to leave school, pretty soon it was only me and her in the hallway as I followed silently behind. Now was my chance, I knew I could probably get some information out of this girl; she didn't have the same malicious feel as the others. I followed her into the bathroom, checking behind me to make sure that the rest of her group were nowhere in sight as I removed my invisibility and entered the room, finding her standing in front of the sink and crying slightly.

'Are you okay?' I asked, grabbing a tissue from the holder on the wall and coming over to her. She jumped slightly and gasped, looking at me warily.

'Yeah I'm f-fine' she stuttered, wiping her eyes with the tissue while her hands shook.

'Do you want to talk about it, you seem scared…' I trailed off, placing a comforting hand on her arm, her eyes widened and she took in a deep breath, nodding slightly.

'Yes…' she whispered, more tears spilling out.

'Are you in some sort of trouble?' I asked and she winced slightly but didn't deny my assumption.

'Is someone hurting you?' I asked, it would explain why she was afraid, besides, I knew a vampire could easily inflict pain on a human.

'I don't want to be a monster' she blurted, slumping against the sink and taking a shaky breath, I looked at her confused but she didn't elaborate.

'You don't seem like a monster to me' I smiled softly, handing her another tissue as I noticed more tears fall.

'I am…I've done horrible things, I wish they didn't make me…' she whispered to herself, thinking I couldn't hear her, 'pretend I didn't say anything okay' she asked and I nodded. She heard steps pacing down the hallway towards the bathroom and got a panicked look on her face, jumping and running towards the door, sending one last look at me before disappearing out the door.

'There you are! What took you so long? We still need to get the gift for our leader' someone hissed and I peeked out the door to see Hannah dragging Lisa back towards the parking lot, I was invisible now so I followed behind, watching as they both climbed into a car and drove off.

Gift? What did they mean by that? I was quite confused as I wandered out into the parking lot, spotting Nessie, Jay and Eve as they walked towards his car. It was nice to see Jay in a couple, he and Eve were holding hands and they looked so unbelievably cute together.

'Ew, what does he even see in that loser?' a sneering voice came out from a few cars away, loud enough that Eve stiffened in response and I could hear Jay hiss.

'Perhaps he likes her because she's an awesome person _Tiffany_, not everyone's an ugly and fake tramp like you' Elsie responded as she walked past me. I laughed at the look on the blonde girl's face as her orange skin puckered at the insult.

'Whatever, you're all just a bunch of freaks. You probably couldn't even get boyfriends if you wanted' she laughed, glaring at Elsie. I heard a quiet growl from a few feet away and spotted Jake and Seth climbing out of their car, they had obviously come to pick Nessie up from school.

'Jake!' Nessie squealed; running up to him and jumping into his arms as Jay pretended to gag when they began kissing.

'Hey babe, how was school?' he grinned as she dropped back down to the ground.

'Good good, it's just that _some_ people don't realise when they're not wanted' she sighed, glancing at Tiffany who was busy eyeing up Jake and Seth. Oh no she didn't.

'Who's this then?' she purred, walking over to them as Jake pulled Nessie into his arms protectively.

'I'm Jake, Nessie's boyfriend' he replied, eyeing her caustiously.

'Not for long' she murmured under her breath, not realising we could all hear her. 'Oh how nice' she said out loud, shrugging when Jake refused to shake her hand. 'And you are?'

'Taken' Seth grinned, 'and definitely not interested. Even if I was single, I don't think I'd want to be with a girl like you. Besides…ew' he said, gesturing at her as the others laughed.

'Oh you don't know what you're missing' she smiled, 'I doubt your girlfriend would know the first thing about pleasuring a man' she chuckled and I growled silently. 'I could show you a good time' she whispered, ignoring Nessie's hiss.

I'd had enough; this bitch didn't know who she was messing with. I was positively steaming as I stomped toward her, still silent and invisible and grabbed her trousers, yanking them down to her ankles in the middle of the parking lot. Her face turned bright red as she pulled her trousers up, spinning around while trying to spot who could have done it only to see no one in the area. Seth was almost doubled over in laughter as he clutched onto Jake who looked confused.

'Nelle' he whispered in between laughs and Jake's eyes widened with understanding before he joined in with Nessie and the others laughing as Tiffany stomped off red faced towards her friends.

I sighed and went over to Seth, kissing him softly on the cheek before following him to the car with Jake and Nessie, once inside I waited until we were out of the school parking lot before becoming visible again and making Nessie jump.

'Woah! Nelle, why do you always do that?' she gasped as I chuckled at her response.

'Because it's fun, what would I do if I didn't have you to pick on?' I smiled as she raised her eyebrow.

'I'm guessing it was you who pantsed the tramp?' Seth grinned, giving me a kiss and pulling me into his side.

'Well the girl crossed the line, do you really blame me?' I smiled.

'Oh I love my wife!' he sighed, kissing my temple as we drove towards the house that we shared with Eric and Leah.

* * *

><p>'So how's the spy life?' Eric asked as I walked into the kitchen to grab a snack.<p>

'Boring, better than sitting around the house all day and waiting for Seth to come home' I sighed, 'not that I don't miss you Leah' I grinned, wishing to avoid another attack of pregnancy hormones.

'Nah it's okay Nelle, it gives me and Eric some alone time seeing as he's working nights at the hospital' she shrugged, smiling up at him.

'They're strange teenagers; they absolutely worship this mystery vampire and do anything to please her. When I last left them they were talking about a gift of some kind, I'm pretty sure she has them out running errands but I have no idea why. One girl seems to be scared of the group and the vampire, but I don't think she's likely to get out of it any time soon, she's too much under their control' I sighed, 'She's trapped, this Lisa girl is probably the only one we can save…the others are too far gone into whatever sickness that this vampire has brainwashed into them' I looked over to Eric and remembered the conversation I heard him and Carlisle having this morning.

'So have you tried?' I asked, referring to Carlisle's request for Eric to use his ability to help Eve's mother.

'Yes…I can't do it' he sighed sadly, slumping against the counter. 'I can add body parts and change body parts, move them around and such, I could remove it if it were tumours but her leukaemia is too far along' he sighed, 'it's spread throughout all of her bone marrow and too ingrained to take out without killing her in the process' he explained.

'So there's no way to save her' I murmured, I had seen how much Eve loved her mother and having been the cause of my human mother's death I knew the pain of losing one. I had always felt guilty about killing my mother, though I knew it was my father's fault. Eve shouldn't have to lose her mom at such a young age and in such a drawn out way.

'What about changing her?' Leah asked; I was quite surprised that she suggested it. Though I supposed now she was married to a vampire, she couldn't really hate them anymore.

'Carlisle's been thinking about it, of course he'll need to find a way of asking her, he wouldn't do it without her permission' he smiled slightly, hugging Leah close to him.

'Are they going to tell Eve at the same time?' I asked, wondering how the mother and daughter would respond to the revelation.

'Probably, be easier to get it all out in the open at the same time' Eric shrugged as Seth came in and wrapped his arm around me.

'Ooh vampire talk' he grinned and I rolled my eyes. He was such a kid sometimes, it made me wonder how disastrous he would be as a father. He would probably feed them candy for supper and let them stay up all night. That was one of the main reasons why I took the special birth control that Carlisle had come up with, he had to mix it together in a way that meant it would work with my supernatural metabolism, not that I was sure I could even have children but it was better to be safe than sorry. I wanted to save up some money and have a place of our own before starting a family.

'How was work today bro?' Leah smiled up at him.

'Good, we're getting quite a few customers. It helps that we have two genius mechanics, though a lot of them just turn up to see the _blonde chick' _he chuckled, referring to Rose who had decided to help them out with the auto detailing shop instead of her sister's party planning business. She had apparently once hated werewolves, though I couldn't picture it compared to how she was now; beyond the occasional dog joke she was actually quite friendly with Seth, Jake and Leah, even helping out with Leah's pregnancy.

'You two keep your clothes on!' Eric yelled towards upstairs where Jake and Nessie had disappeared to.

'We've been charged with keeping an eye on their libido while their away from Edward and Bella' Leah explained, laughing at the disgruntled and tousled looking Nessie and Jake as they walked back into the kitchen.

'You're such a party pooper Eric' Nessie moaned, her cheeks flushed.

'I made a promise and I intend to keep it young lady' he chastised her as she rolled her eyes.

'Come on everybody, time for dinner' Leah huffed, instructing Jake to take the roast potatoes out of the oven and passing Seth a pile of plates. I followed her into the dining room, pulling the chair out for her so she would be able to slide in, she was getting pretty large and only had a short while left before her due date so we were all ensuring she had to do as little as possible, much to her annoyance. I took a seat next to Seth and smiled, ready to join in the territory war that was meal time in a house full of werewolves.

* * *

><p>Lisa POV:<p>

* * *

><p>'Lisa, stop complaining. You're the one who wanted to be a part of this so just deal with it' Ethan hissed at me when I had told him I wasn't so sure about collecting the <em>gift<em> with them.

'But I just don't think th-' I whispered only to be cut off by Hannah.

'It doesn't matter what you think, this is a part of what it takes to be one of us' she spat, gripping my arms and forcing me to look at her. I hated it when they talked to me like this, they seemed so cruel and cold even though they had welcomed me into the group, I wondered where the funny and quirky people I had met had disappeared to, they hadn't been like this before _she_ turned up.

'O-okay Hannah…I'm sorry' I apologised, her grip was beginning to hurt and I felt my body slump slightly in relief when she released me.

'Do you want our leader to find out that you're having these doubts? You know she will…she always knows' whispered Adam, I felt a thrill of panic fill me at the idea, I knew we had to do what she said; the others had no problem with it but I couldn't help the guilt that I felt, though I couldn't let _her_ know.

'No…I'm sorry Adam, I just panicked for a second. It was stupid. I respect our leader and want to please her' I gulped and they all nodded in acceptance of my words.

'Good. Now we need to go, we don't want to be late and we still need to pick up a…_gift_ for her' Ethan smirked, standing up from the step he was sitting on as the bell went signalling the end of school. My throat dried up instantly and I swallowed loudly, my heartbeat going haywire as I followed them outside towards the car park.

'Guys, I'm just going to the toilet, I'll meet you at the car' I said shakily, they shrugged and kept on walking and I headed off towards the bathroom, the school was almost empty by now as everyone was in a rush to leave, I walked into the bathroom and felt tears threaten to spill over in my eyes as I stood in front of the mirror. I hated getting _gifts_ for our leader, but I had to or else, I was a monster.

'Are you okay?' someone asked; their voice was sweet and kind as I jumped in shock, gasping at the beautiful girl in front of me. She had stunning skin and gorgeous midnight black hair that made her silvery grey eyes stand out. She handed me a tissue and I took it gratefully, looking at her warily, I didn't recognise her as a student…was she new?

'Yeah I'm f-fine' I stuttered, wiping my eyes with the tissue and trying to stop my hands from shaking.

'Do you want to talk about it, you seem scared…' she trailed off, placing a warm hand on my arm, I took in a deep breath and felt my head nod, if I couldn't talk to anyone I knew, maybe I could talk to a stranger…

'Yes…' I whispered, more tears spilling out of my eyes as I tried to control myself.

'Are you in some sort of trouble?' she asked, worry clear in her eyes and I felt myself wince but didn't deny it.

'Is someone hurting you?' she asked, she had no idea, I couldn't exactly say _oh yeah a vampire and her minions are forcing me to do evil things and I can't do anything about it otherwise I'll end up punished or worse…dead_, she'd think I was insane and end up killed by _her_ because of my big mouth.

'I don't want to be a monster' I blurted, slumping against the sink and taking a shaky breath, she looked at me confused but I didn't explain, I was still reeling that I had actually said that. Though it was true…I was becoming a monster, I couldn't stop it.

'You don't seem like a monster to me' she smiled softly, handing me another tissue as I began crying again.

'I am…I've done horrible things, I wish they didn't make me…' I whispered to myself, glad that she couldn't hear me; she'd think I was insane if she did, 'pretend I didn't say anything okay' I asked and she nodded. I heard steps pacing down the hallway towards the bathroom and recognised the sound of Hannah's clacking high heels; I felt sudden panic and raced to the door, looking back at her once before rushing outside. Hannah paused and crossed her arms glaring at me before sighing angrily at my blotched face.

'What took you so long? We still need to get the gift for our leader' she hissed and I stayed silent as she dragged me towards the parking lot.

We got outside and received the usual stares as we headed towards Ethan and Hanna's cars, I couldn't help but glance at Eve who gave me a small sad smile as she leant into the guy she had started dating. I had to ignore her though, the others would punish me if they found out I had talked to her, I was just happy that she had found friends. The guy she was with was stunning but she deserved no less than that, she had always been so pretty and shy so he was lucky to have her. I noticed he was looking at me funny, as if trying to focus on something he couldn't get a grip on before he shrugged and turned back as Tiffany began to talk to them.

I sighed and climbed into the passenger side of Hannah's car, getting ready for the drive towards downtown Buffalo that we made every week or so. My stomach constricted in dread and anxiety as we drove through the streets behind Ethan's car, I watched out the window as the buildings turned from clean and friendly to cold and broken down, the city morphing from a bustling metropolis to a decrepit and worn down shadow of old buildings and vagrants.

'So what are we looking for?' Hannah asked as we stepped out of the car, glancing to Ethan who had just gotten off the phone.

'Female, preferably young' he shrugged, tapping his chin, 'it'll be difficult but it's what she wants'.

I felt an ice cold hand clamp over my heart as he spoke, it was like I had two voices in my head. One of them was sickened, full of doubt and fear at what we were about to do. While another eerie and unnatural voice whispered _do it, make her happy. It's only one person, life is so fragile so what does it matter. You want to do it._

I gulped as we walked down an alley way, keeping my eyes open for our target while my body told me to run away, the other part of my brain was making it impossible to do so, it was like my feet were moving of their own accord as guilt consumed me. Adam gestured us over, pointing towards where a girl who couldn't be older than thirteen was walking towards us, unaware of our present as she chatted on the phone.

'Yeah, I couldn't believe it either' she gasped into the phone, laughing at whatever the person said, 'she did what? No! Hey did you se-' she was cut off by a blow across the head, I winced as she crumpled to the floor and Ethan nudged her with his foot, making sure she was unconscious as he handed the rock back to Adam.

'Tie her up' he said, looking at me and I felt all of the blood leave my face as my eyes widened. Hannah pushed me forward and passed me some rope and tape, narrowing her eyes as I took them with shaking hands.

I hated this part, I felt like a villain as I bound her hands and feet, placing some tape over the girls mouth as she murmured groggily. The voice in my head told me that I was just doing my duty and it was her fault for walking alone in this part of the city, though my heart felt dread at the idea of her life being cut short. Was I a monster? I felt like I had been becoming one more and more, the others didn't seem to have a problem with any of this, I didn't know if I would be as cold as them one day; I didn't want to be as callous but a small part of me that was becoming stronger with every day wondered if that would really be a bad thing. I shook myself away from the thoughts as me and Hannah put the girl in the back of our car before driving off towards the all too familiar abandoned building a few minutes away.

I followed behind as Ethan and Jordan pushed the now awake girl in front of them, we walked through the grey hallway, parts of wall and strips of yellowed wallpaper were littering the floor and I tried to ignore the putrid smell as we entered into the only modern part of the building; it was a large room with dark red walls and lavish furniture, only candles lit it and the flickering light cast an ominous glow around the room as we approached the sofa where she was sat, waiting impatiently as she twirled a strand of her blonde hair between her fingers.

'What took you so long?' she asked, her eerily beautiful voice ringing out in the large room as it sent unwelcome shivers down my skin, the part of me that was becoming a monster purred in response to her voice and I felt an uncomfortable yearning to touch her.

'Traffic La-' Ethan was cut off when she suddenly appeared in front of him, her white marble hand lifting his chin as she narrowed her eyes at him. He smiled hesitantly, his breath becoming ragged before she released him, turning to inspect the petrified looking girl that he and Jordan gripped in their hands.

'She will do, you may go for now' she smiled, her white teeth glinting in the candle light. 'Not you' she ordered, pointing at me as I gulped, my heart started pounding in my chest as I watched helplessly, the others gave me unsympathetic glances as they walked out of the room and I stood there silently as she pulled the girl over to the sofa, the sound of her whimpering and the distant roar of the others driving away the only sounds in the room.

'You've been having doubts little girl' she murmured, stroking one finger down the scared girl's cheek as her crimson eyes glared at me.

'I-I'm sorry' I whispered, unable to look at her in the eye.

'I will forgive you…if you do one favour' she smiled and the relief I had briefly felt came crashing down as dread filled me.

'Wh-what should I do?' I asked, mentally crossing my fingers.

'Easy, kill this girl' she said, gesturing to the girl in question whose brown eyes widened and filled with tears.

'I can't…I'm not a m-murderer' I gulped and she sneered at me. I felt a strange compulsion, as if my mind was swarming with wasps and it was very uncomfortable, I had to grip my head from the pain as I felt my body trying to reach out towards where the girl was. Images of me cutting the girl's throat began to fill my mind and a part of me felt pleasure at the possibility, I didn't like it…it didn't feel like me but the more I tried to fight it the stronger it got.

'I said kill her' she hissed and the pressure got stronger, I could hear the blood rushing in my ears as I squeezed my eyes shut.

'No' I gasped, managing to take a small step back even though some animal inside of me snarled in protest, egging me to move back forwards.

'Yes you will' she snarled and I could hear the girls muffled screams as she was dragged towards me, a cold metal object was thrust in my palm and I felt my fingers compulsively grip it. The images were getting more vivid now and the monster part of me begged me to please the vampire, I opened my eyes to see the girls petrified gaze watching me as she was held only inches away from my face; she had tears streaming down her cheeks and her brown hair was stuck to the side of her head where some blood had pooled from when Ethan had knocked her out. A picture of my sister swam up into my conscious and she looked so similar, slightly younger than my actual sister had been before she died but so heart breakingly similar all the same. I felt the knife drop from my hand as I remembered my sister; I took several more steps back, shaking all the while.

'No!' I screamed, tears stinging my eyes as I met the vampire's livid glare, she snarled at me, her red eyes turning black with anger as I backed away from her before turning around and running for my life, knowing she could easily catch me.

'You can run little girl but I'll get you' she screeched before I heard the muffled scream of agony that meant she was draining the girl, I felt sick as I shot out of door, not giving myself a break as I sprinted through the alleyways, completely ignoring all the stares I was getting.

Where should I go? I couldn't go home; I couldn't go to see Hannah or Ethan. I didn't have anywhere to turn and my mind swam with fear as I hurled my body onwards, coming out of the horrid part of the city and entering into the nicer area. I ran and ran and ran until every breath was a burning pain in my lungs, still pushing forward until I came onto a familiar street. I knew this road, I had spent most of my time here before I got involved with Ethan and the others, it was Eve's road and I spotted the achingly familiar bungalow at the very end. I was almost there.

'I told you that you couldn't run' came a musical voice as a cold force launched me into the air and sent my sprawling into a wall. I looked around for help but saw that it was now pitch black, everyone was in their houses, either asleep or out.

'Pl-please don't kill me' I whimpered, feeling a sting as I tried to stand up, I had broken my arm in the impact.

'I should have thought you would run here, Adam warned me of your friendship with the human girl' she snarled, 'though she's not your friend anymore is she' she smiled, crouching down and gripping my face, her eyes were now a glowing red…she had obviously just fed so I hoped she wouldn't kill me.

'No…she's moved on' I whispered, feeling a jab of pain shoot along my jaw as her grip tightened.

'She has and now you're all alone. Did you think she would help you if you got to her house? She's not even there right now. I can only smell some pathetic old lady asleep in one of the rooms' she smiled, 'you really have no one don't you. The friend you left behind has now moved on, your sister is dead and your parents don't care about you, the group you sacrificed everything for have just left you to die and I really couldn't care less about you. You're pathetic and weak, unable to carry out even the simplest of tasks'.

'Please-' I whimpered only to be cut off as she slapped me.

'Why couldn't you just do what you were told? I used so much power trying to turn you into the perfect companion like the others but you had to be so stubborn didn't you' she hissed, getting right up into my face, 'I have no use for you now you sad little human' she whispered before a burning agony claimed my throat, her teeth pierced my flesh and I was held frozen in fear and pain, I felt the world drifting away as my vision narrowed. The blackness was engulfing me as I began to go blissfully numb; the last thing I remembered was cold…so much cold before death finally came to claim me, taking me to my sister once more.

The world turned to black and I was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: *Gasp* she's dead. So we finally meet the mystery vampire…freaky. A sub-par chapter I admit but tell me what you think anyway. R&R please.**


	11. Discoveries

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Meyer does, I did however invent a majority of these characters.**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So very very sorry this chapter took so long. I though I had already posted it and then all of life's little obligations kept piling up until I didn't even have time to think about the story let alone write some of it. But finally it's here, now I've gotten settled again I should have more time to write, I'll dedicate my weekend to it if my noisy neighbours will let me. Enjoy anyway.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: Eve's POV<strong>

* * *

><p>'Oh crap I have to get home, my grandma's going to kill me' I gasped once I'd caught sight of the bedside clock.<p>

'I'll protect you, your brave knight is here' Jay smiled from where he was hovering above me before he began trailing kisses down my throat again.

'Seriously Jay' I sighed before I could get carried away again, he chuckled and stood up, pulling me swiftly to my feet and keeping a hold of my hand as we walked down the stairs. Don't these people ever sleep? I noticed that his sister Bella and her husband were curled up on the sofa watching a movie and didn't look as if they planned on moving any time soon.

'Drive safely Jay' Bella smiled, nudging her husband slightly when I blushed at the idea of them knowing what we were doing up in his room.

'It was nice seeing you again Eve' Edward called, he looked so much like Jay, it was weird that he wasn't related by blood.

'Bye guys, have a nice night' I called as Jay pulled me out the car and towards his car; they waved back before Jay closed the door, herding me over to the car.

'Sorry, they were just planning on asking questions about us and it would have gotten embarrassing' he chuckled when I gave him a curious look.

'How could you know that, are you psychic or something?' I asked and he laughed to himself.

'Nope, I just know my mo-sister very well' he smiled while we drove towards my house. That wasn't the first time he'd almost called Bella something else, it was strange. I shrugged it off as we pulled onto my road, jumping slightly when Jay screeched to a sudden halt and stiffened, appearing to smell the air.

'What's wrong?' I asked, he just shook his head and jumped out of the car, leaving the engine running.

'Stay here' he called, running in between two houses and peering around before letting out a growl…a growl? What was he a wolf? I jumped out of the car and headed over, deciding to ignore his warning and almost fainted at what I saw. Lisa was lying on the ground, crumpled and lifeless, her usually pale skin shockingly white in the street light as Jay took her pulse.

'Is she…' I gasped, feeling my throat turn dry and tears begin to fall.

'Yes' he whispered, coming over and pulling me into a hug before pulling out his phone, he didn't appear to say anything before snapping it shut, smoothing my hair and murmuring comforting words. 'You should go tell your grandmother what's going on, she heard the car and has woken up, she just noticed you're not in bed' he whispered and I nodded, ignoring the fact that it was weird how he could know all that. Lisa was more important.

'What the hell do you think you wer-' my grandma screamed before she saw my face, her anger turning to concern as she took me in and peered out of the house, wrapping her dressing gown around her against the cold as a silver Mercedes screeched to a halt next to Jay's car and Carlisle ran out with Edward, shooting us brief glances before running over to Lisa's…_body_.

'It's Lisa…she…she's dead' I sobbed and my grandma put her hand over her chest in shock, watching as Carlisle pulled out his phone and dialled an ambulance and the police.

'Oh my…how could this happen. She was so young' my grandmother gasped, 'I never heard anything at all…' she whispered. Why had Lisa even been here, was she coming to see me or something? I should never had let her go off with those people.

'It appears she's been stabbed, probably a mugging gone wrong' Carlisle spoke as he came over, patting me on the shoulder to comfort me.

'But there wasn't any blood…' I whispered.

'I think she was dumped here, we'll know more when the police do their investigation, I'll do the autopsy myself' he sighed as Jay came over, Edward seemed to be staying with the body, probably to make sure no one touched her before the police got here.

'You're going to need to give a statement to the police when they get here' Carlisle explained, looking between me and Jay as if speaking a message with his eyes before he turned back to my grandma. 'Mrs Jones, were you awake about…twenty minutes ago?' he asked softly and she shook herself out of her daze and looked back at him.

'No, I just woke up when I heard Jarrett here pull up, I noticed that Evelyn's bed was unoccupied so I came out here to find her, she told me what had happened and here we are now' she answered, squeezing my hand gently.

We were interrupted by the sound of cars arriving and the whole street was cast in the glow of flashing red and blue lights as the police and an ambulance came to a halt on the side of the road, people began to come out of their houses, curious as to what the commotion was as Edward talked to the paramedics.

'Which one of you is Dr. Cullen?' asked a gruff voice as a slightly overweight middle aged police officer walked up to us and Carlisle stepped forward.

'I am officer, it was my nephew and his girlfriend who found the body' he replied, shaking the policeman's hand and causing him to jump slightly at the contact, all of the Cullens had freakishly cold skin, something to do with a genetic circulation problem according to Jay, though Nessie didn't have the same problem…maybe she didn't inherit it.

'And you are?' he asked me, pulling out a small note pad and pen.

'Evelyn Jones' I said, clearing my throat because the tears had made it scratchy, 'I live here with my grandmother' I explained, pointing back at the house.

'Do you know the victim Miss Jones?' he asked.

'Yes, Lisa Abbott, I went to school with her…we used to be friends a while back' I whispered shakily.

'Used to be friends?' he asked suspiciously and I saw Jay shoot him an annoyed look.

'Yeah, we fell out a few months ago when she made new friends' I shrugged, 'it's been a while since we last talked' I sobbed and Jay came up to me, pulling me into a hug.

'These new friends, also students?' he asked and I nodded my head, trying to resist the urge to blow my nose in Jay's jumper.

'And you're Dr Cullen's nephew…' he trailed off, looking at Jay.

'Jarrett Cullen, yes sir' he answered calmly, rubbing my arm in comfort.

'Is there a reason why you called your uncle before the police or an ambulance?' he asked, raising an eyebrow, I didn't like the way he was looking at Jay.

'Well, we live close by, I checked her pulse but on the off chance she was still alive I knew that my uncle would be able to get here faster than an ambulance' he shrugged and the officer nodded his head in understanding though remained slightly on guard.

'And what was your relationship with the victim?'

'Again, I went to school with her, though my family are new to the area so I'd only seen her around. We were in different social groups so we hadn't ever talked' he explained.

'Okay, could you describe the scene as best you can upon discovering the body?' he asked.

'We left my house at about quarter past eleven this evening, the drive only took a few minutes. I spotted the body from the car and came to a quick stop before running out to check on whoever it was. I found her as she is now in between those two houses, her arm looked broken and I could see a stab wound in her stomach, she didn't have a bag or anything with her but I recognised her from school. Eve had followed me out of the car and she went to go tell her grandmother while I rung my uncle and then he rang you after checking to see if she was still alive, which she wasn't' he sighed sadly and I squeezed his hand, though he seemed calm enough, unlike me.

'Thank you Mr Cullen, you can go home now and I'll be in touch to get a written statement. Dr Cullen if you wouldn't mind staying behind?' he asked and Carlisle nodded his acceptance, heading back over towards where the paramedics were closing up the ambulance and another policeman was taping off the area.

'Will you be alright? I can stay with you if you want?' Jay whispered into my hair as he hugged me and I shook my head, taking a breath.

'No, I'll be okay; I'm just a little shocked. I'll see you tomorrow' I sighed, kissing him softly on the lips until my grandmother cleared her throat loudly, 'bye' I whispered before giving him another quick kiss and watching him climb back into his car with Edward and drive away.

* * *

><p>News had spread remarkably fast at school the next couple of days, everyone was talking about Lisa's death and countless rumours had sprang to life, going all the way from the truth of a mugging and body dump that the police and Carlisle had verified, to her apparent murder by a serial killer. Some people even chose to believe that she had been an undercover agent and had been murdered by the people she was spying on. She was seventeen for crying out loud, how can people's imaginations be so ridiculous?<p>

One thing was for sure though, everyone had been watching Ethan and the other so called _vampires_ all day; they hadn't even batted an eyelid at the news, still continuing to act stoic and arrogant as they ignored everyone's questions. I assumed that the police would have talked to them and I had a suspicion that they knew more than they were letting on, though they didn't show any signs of guilt or even being saddened at all by Lisa's death. They must all have alibies, though I wondered why she had been out so late. If she hadn't been with them, who could she have been with?

'I'm coming into the hospital with you again today' Jay smiled nervously as we drove away from the school, I shot him a curious look but shrugged anyway, it was fine by me. 'My uncle wants to speak to you and your mother and has asked I be there…there's something we need to tell you' he explained.

'Is it a bad thing or a good thing?' I asked, starting to feel slightly anxious. Were they moving away?

'Well, it's really up to you and Fiona if it's good or bad' he sighed as we pulled into the hospital parking lot and stopped the engine before climbing out and helping me out of the car.

'That's mysterious' I murmured, clasping his hand as we walked.

'I know' he chuckled as we got into the elevator, 'you'll just have to wait until we get there' he smiled apprehensively, he looked really nervous about something and I grew more and more curious as we entered the private room that Carlisle had given my mother a few days ago and I spotted that Esme was sitting by her bed and talking to her about some singer that they both loved.

'Hey sweetie' my mom smiled, she looked to be having one of her more comfortable days, probably because they'd stopped the extensive treatments now they knew they weren't working. She was looking less sick but still frail as she sat propped up by pillows.

'Hi mom, hi Esme' I smiled weakly, taking a seat on the other side of her bed as Jay settled himself in the chair next to me. Carlisle came in a couple of seconds later and gave Jay an unfathomable look as Jay nodded silently, what was that about?

'Not that I'm not happy to see you all but is there a reason why we have a little soirée going on?' my mum asked, shifting on the bed as Carlisle looked over her chart, he glanced over at Esme who smiled warmly at him before switching his gaze to Jay again who sighed and turned to face both me and my mother.

'We have something we need to tell you both, but first we need to ensure that no matter what you reaction you have it cannot leave this room' I raised my eyebrow at him as he looked from me to my mother as if reading our expressions, 'not even your mother' he stated, glancing at my mom who shrugged.

'I trust you all' she smiled and I nodded my head to agree, Jay looked pensive for a second as if listening to something that wasn't there before looking to Carlisle and nodding for no reason, he took a deep breath and looked back at me, clasping my hand.

'What would you say if I told you...we, my family and I, aren't human' he winced at the end of the statement as I looked at him like he was crazy. 'What I mean to say is, we're acting as humans to avoid suspicion, when in actual fact…' he trailed off trying to find the right words.

'We're vampires' Carlisle stated, and my mother raised her eyebrows before I groaned.

'You're not like the crypt keepers are you, they're just weird. Jay, this isn't funny' I chastised him; I had never pegged him as delusional…though it explained why he was with me.

'No it's true Eve' Esme smiled, 'those children at your school are human, merely teenagers who have deluded themselves and fallen in with the…_wrong crowd_ so to speak. We however are the real thing, recent events have worried us and it's time for you both to know the truth. We're immortal and never changing' she sighed, holding onto Carlisle's hand.

'I don't believe you, I mean yeah there's something strange about you all…I've noticed a lot of weird things about you but…vampires? Seriously? They don't exist' I chuckled weakly as Jay rolled his eyes.

'I think you'll have to prove it Jay' Carlisle smiled slightly, I crossed my arms across my chest and sat back watching Jay as he stood up and sighed, shrugging off his jacket and placing it over the back of the chair.

'What do you want me to do to prove it? I can move fast, I'm very strong. Ask and ye shall receive oh ye of little faith' he chuckled, raising an eyebrow. I thought about it for a second before getting an idea.

'Can you run fast enough so people can't see?' I asked flippantly and he nodded hesitantly, I grinned and pulled out my car keys, I was going to call his bluff.

'Well fetch little puppy' I laughed as I hurled my keys out of the open window, watching them fly through the air and hurtle downwards. Let's see him try and fake catching those I thought as I turned back to face him, suddenly confused as he wasn't there.

'He just…disappeared' my mom gasped, staring at the door as it slid closed. I blinked a few times and glanced at her, the shock was evident on her face and I began to wonder if they really were supernatural. The door opened again and a gust of wind swept my hair back as Jay suddenly appeared on the foot of my mom's bed, tossing my car keys up and down in his palm and chuckling nervously at my probably gobsmacked expression.

'Bu-wh-how?' I whispered, taking my keys when he held them out to me.

'Believe me now don't you' he smiled. 'Here, more proof' he chuckled, passing me a large rock which I took and stared at, it was solid and…rock like, what did he want me to do with it? He gestured for me to pass it back to him and I did so silently, watching cautiously as he took it in both hands and flexed, instantly turning it to fine rubble that he swept of his jeans.

'Okay I believe you…I really shouldn't, I should go up to the psych ward and check myself in but I believe you' I murmured as Jay took his seat next to me again.

'I had my suspicions' my mom smiled and I glanced at her in shock. 'What? I get bored in bed all the time; it gives me opportunity to think a lot and I find the Cullen's very bewildering, I guess this explains why' she shrugged and Carlisle chuckled. 'But why are you telling us now?'

'We wanted to tell you, we were going to but…it's sort of difficult to fit into conversation. But what with everything that happened last night, we couldn't afford to put you in danger any longer' Jay sighed and I looked at him curiously, dread filling my stomach as I realised what he was talking about.

'Lisa wasn't killed by a vampire…was she?' I whispered as he shook his head sadly and his grip tightened on my hand.

'There are more of us out there, and they're not all civilised. Lisa was killed by another of our kind, someone who drinks from humans and someone who we suspect is behind how strange some of your classmates are acting' Esme smiled sadly, waiting for me to react I suppose, I was still trying to get my head around my boyfriend being a vampire, I didn't want to think about the idea of Lisa being some person's meal right now so I shook away the fear and tried to think of a question that seemed safer.

'So you're like thousands of years old or something?' I asked, inspecting Jay, he didn't look a day over eighteen.

'No, Carlisle is three hundred and seventy six years old, Esme is one hundred and twenty one we stay the same physical age we were changed into a vampire at; I am another story…I was born only seven years ago' he shrugged.

'Seven? But you look about my age…am I going to go onto one of those lists that people check before buying a house?' I gulped and he laughed.

'Nope, I am fully matured both physically and mentally so you don't need to worry. It was because I am the product of two vampires pro creating' he explained, 'vampires can't usually have children, well the females can't, but Eric…you met him, has an ability that allowed for my mother as well as Esme, Alice and Rose to conceive. Me, Maddy, Elsie, Zack and Finn all grew up rapidly, reaching the physical and mental age of adults by the age of three' he explained and I tried to let it sink in.

'So, you and Els-wait…ability?' my mom asked.

'As in gifts, some of us have extra…_powers_ so to speak, normally a particular trait that carries over into our immortality. Alice, who isn't my sister by the way but my adopted daughter, has the ability to see visions of the future. Her husband can sense and control emotions and their daughter Maddy can teleport. Then there's Edward who is my adopted son, he can read minds while his wife Bella is a shield. Eric's ability is to physically manipulate people's bodies, we have a family friend who can turn into and control water, another who can turn invisible…the list goes on' Carlisle smiled, both mine and my mother's faces were completely flabbergasted.

'Wh-what about you Jay, and Nessie?' I whispered and he sighed.

'Well, first of all you should know that Bella and Edward are actually my parents, Carlisle is my grandfather not my uncle' he smiled and I tried to picture Bella as a mother, though I could see the resemblance he and Nessie had to both her her and Edward, it was hard to visualise the youthful couple as parents. 'And yes I have a power, I can read minds like my dad, but also scan memories while Nessie can place her thoughts into other people's minds through touch' he smiled hesitantly waiting for my reaction. I sat there like an idiot for about a minute, letting it all sink in when it suddenly hit me and I felt my cheeks begin to burn with my blush.

'Oh shit, you've been hearing everything I'm thinking. Oh crap oh crap oh crap. I'm such an idiot, how can you stand it?' I moaned into my hands as I hid my face.

'First of all you are not an idiot' he replied when I finally looked up at him. 'If you've heard some of the thoughts I've had to deal with from people like Tiffany then you'd know what I was talking about. Also, part of the reason why I like you so much is because of your thoughts, they're very sweet and kind and often entertaining in a good way, you have nothing to worry about. Besides, I try not to listen in to them and respect your privacy' he shrugged and I felt a little relieved. Well at least I knew that he really did like me, it would be pretty hard to be around someone you only liked a little if you had to hear their thoughts.

'Of course I like you, a lot more than a little' he answered my thoughts and I blushed slightly.

'It's gonna take a while to get used to that' I chuckled, kissing him on the cheek.

'Do you have pulses?' my mom asked Carlisle who smiled at her question and held out his hand for her to check herself, I did the same with Jay and sure enough, his cold wrist held nothing, no pulse no blood…nothing at all.

'So you drink blood then' I asked, pointing to my neck, 'isn't it hard being around humans?'

'Yes and no' Jay answered, 'we all drink animal blood because none of us wish to kill humans, a lot of vampires still do though, their eyes are red from the blood. My family's are gold from their diet as you can see. I'm different, because of the way I was born and not created; I have human eyes, like my father's before he was turned. And no, some of us are tempted to drink blood but we all have excellent control, that's why my grandfather can work at a hospital and I can go to school; we barely notice human blood at all, again, it's easier for me as it's never really tempted me, but some of my family have a harder time. They usually just hold their breath if someone gets a cut in front of them, though my uncle Jasper almost attacked my mom when she was human and got a paper cut in front of him' he chuckled.

'Wait, so your mother knew the family when she was human?' my mom asked curiously and Jay nodded.

'They fell in madly in love when she moved to their school, it was almost love at first sight because they were mates, though it was difficult because she was his singer' he explained.

'Wait…mates? Singer?' I asked.

'Vampires mate for life, it's an instantaneous bond that's stronger than all other kinds of love, basically soul mates that are destined to be together and it's impossible to be apart. If one mate is killed the other will be in agony, often either committing suicide or seeking vengeance' he smiled sadly, 'a singer is a person who's blood is so unbelievably potent and alluring that most vampires would not be able to stop themselves from immediately killing their singer and drinking all their blood' he explained.

Was I his mate? Or singer? He hadn't seemed to have wanted to suck my blood at any point, and surely if I was this _singer_ he wouldn't be able to be so close to me.

'No you're not my singer' he smiled, 'I do think you're my mate however. I know that's probably scary but they tell me you just know when you meet them from the bond' he smiled hesitantly as if I was going to freak out, I became acutely aware of every eye in the room on me and felt myself blush. I didn't really want to tell him how I'd been head over heels for him the second I saw him, so I used my mind.

_Is that why I always feel electricity when I touch you and how I hate being away from you?_ I asked mentally and he nodded, I grinned and kissed him quickly on the lips, _I love you, I'm not scared to be mystically bound to you, I think it's cool._ I said hugging him tight and trying to ignore my mom's laughter.

'I love you too' he whispered, so quiet I almost didn't hear it and I noticed that Carlisle and Esme were grinning like Cheshire cats while my mom looked confused. I kissed him again quicklu, hearing a wheezy cough from the bed and blushing as I pulled away from Jay and smiled sheepishly at my mom.

'Okay children, enough with the PDA' she chuckled and I rolled my eyes. 'So how did you all become vampires, is it a genetic thing? You all look so alike'.

'Well Carlisle was turned by a random vampire that he was chasing down when he got bitten, he hid in a potato cellar for the transformation and the poor thing was traumatised' Esme smiled, patting her husband on the cheek.

'I didn't want to be a murderer like the vampire that had changed me, it was my luck that I came across a herd of deer when I was hiding in the forest and I realised I could live off animal blood. I mastered my thirst and learned to be doctor and haven't looked back since' he grinned, kissing Esme softly on the cheek.

'And I was turned by Carlisle after he found me in the morgue, I had jumped off a cliff after losing my son and they believed me to be dead. Carlisle saw I was still alive and recognised me as the young woman he had treated when I was sixteen, he changed me and we've been together ever since. Others in our family were all changed when they were dying; Edward of the Spanish flu, Rose after being…attacked, Emmett after Rose found him being mauled by a bear' she explained, counting them off on her fingers as my mother and I tried to absorb all the information.

'Alice and Jasper were the only ones I didn't change, well apart from Bella who was changed by Edward after she almost died giving birth. Alice had no memory of her human life, she woke up as a vampire seeing visions of the future and that's how she knew about our family and her mate, Jasper. They turned up one day already knowing almost everything about us' he laughed with Esme, 'she even moved all of Edward's stuff out of his bedroom and claimed it' it sounded so much like the Alice I had met that I couldn't help but laugh with them.

'So that's our family, we have close friends and extended family that live nearby as well but I wouldn't want your head to explode with all the information' Esme smiled and my mom let out a wheezy chuckle.

'I am happy that you have trusted us with your secret Carlisle, but…why?' she asked and I had to wonder myself.

'First of all because we see you as family and Jay wanted to tell Eve' he smiled, 'and secondly to make you an offer' he said, turning more serious.

'What offer?' she asked, looking confused.

'Well when you were asleep the other day, I brought our friend Eric in to see you' he said and she looked slightly bewildered but waited for him to continue, 'see his power, as I explained, can physically alter, permanently if he so wishes, a person's body. And we thought he may be able to use his gift to remove the cancer from your body' he explained and her eyes widened in hope.

'Was he able to?' she gasped and I felt dread as I saw his face fall again.

'No, the leukaemia is too ingrained within your bone marrow that he wouldn't be able to remove it without killing you' he sighed and Esme clasped my mom's hand.

'So what's the offer?' she whispered.

'If you wish, I can turn you. Like I did with Esme when I found her dying or with Edward when he had the Spanish flu' he said and I was beginning to understand his train of thought.

'I don't understand…' she trailed off, looking confused.

'I can make you into a vampire'.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh twist! Well not twist because Eric mentioned it but still…what you think? Review please :D**


	12. Pranks, Threats and Life Decisions

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Cullens or other Meyer characters, Eve and so on are from my head though. They say hi : )**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: See I told you, relatively back on track with posting, worked on it this weekend and got some of my mojo back so I'm just waiting for the rest of my creative juices to carry on flowing. **

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: Jay's POV<p>

* * *

><p>'Oh my god!' Eve whispered, tears filling her eyes as she clasped her mother's hand.<p>

_I don't have to lose her, oh thank you thank you thank you._

'Yes of course, mom, did you hear it? This is a miracle' she smiled, tears spilling down her eyes as she hugged her mom, not realising that she sat frozen in place, her brow furrowed in thought.

'I can't do it' she stated, causing Eve to blink in shock.

'What do you mean _you can't_? Didn't you hear him? You don't have to die' she whispered, imploring her with her eyes.

'I may not want to die, but I don't want to live forever trapped in this body' she sighed, gesturing down at her withered skin and almost non-existent flesh. She pulled off her scarf and revealed a few brunette wisps of hair.

'But I can't lose you' Eve whimpered, sitting back in her seat and leaning into me as she sobbed.

_I can't live alone, especially not an eternity…I don't want to be trapped in this half dead body while everyone I love dies, it will be too much. I've already prepared for death. But I don't want to put Eve through the pain of losing a mother, should I do this…but would it be right to do it just for her. I don't want to die…but do I really want this life?_

'This is about _him_ isn't it?' Eve gasped, her shock turning to anger as she realised part of why her mother was hesitating. 'He hasn't even visited you or talked to me for five years! He doesn't have a right to be any part of our lives mom, he doesn't deserve you. You shouldn't let yourself die because of him' she yelled, her breaths coming in short and fast when she finished her rant.

'Eve love, calm down…there are other reasons' I whispered, soothing her as she shook in my arms.

'Sweetie, I know he doesn't love me and I hate him for leaving…but a part of me still loves him. I can't help myself' she cried, shakily wiping a tear away. 'I don't want to spend an eternity alone' she whispered.

'But you won't be alone!' Eve sobbed, 'you'll have me and the Cullens and what if you find a mate mom, what if there is someone out there that is your perfect other half. Just look at Carlisle and Esme' she begged, gesturing over to Carlisle and Esme who had sad but accepting expressions, 'what if that kind of love is just waiting for you?' she finished on a rasp.

'And then what?' her mother yelled as loud as her frail voice would allow her. 'He'll be sickened! Just look at me, I'm a walking corpse, I'll be trapped this way forever' she sobbed.

'No you wouldn't' Esme whispered, causing Fiona's watery eyes to turn to her in question. 'Look, I understand what you're feeling. This is a big thing and I don't want to try and sway you' she smiled softly, patting her hand, 'but if your main reason for not wanting this life is your fear of being stuck in an ailing body, please remember that I had jumped off a cliff. Do you think that was pretty?' she asked.

'You mean my body will heal?' she whispered.

'Yes and no, you're physical body will return to a state it remembers as your physical peak. Your skin would change to look like ours regardless, though your hair would not come back. But Eric, he can shift your body into how it appeared before the cancer. I'm not saying that you should or shouldn't take us up on the offer, I love you like a sister and would hate to lose you, but I will respect your decision. I'm just saying that you shouldn't deny it based on how you believe you will look' she sighed.

_Oh god, I am so shallow. She's right, I was afraid I would be this same shell of a person. Will I really be able to look healthy again; I could run around instead of staying in bed and not worry about my hair falling out every time I brushed it. Was I really going to put my daughter through that pain for my own selfish reasons…but eternity is a long time. What if I don't find my mate? What if Eve is wrong and I end up alone forever. I don't love him anymore but a part of me won't let me forget him. Do I want the pain of never having love again, is it worth it to be able to see my daughter grow up and get married instead of dying in this pitiful excuse for a body while she watches helpless…I just don't know!_

'I think you need some time to think about it' I suggested, she was still lost in thought but nodded quietly as I stood up, holding my hand out to Eve who looked about to protest but sighed, joining me as we walked out of the room.

'Is she considering it Jay?' she whispered as we walked towards the elevators.

'Yes, she is considering it, but it's her decision to make. Be prepared for either answer, you'll need to support her no matter what' I smiled softly and she sighed, leaning into my side as I kissed her head.

'I want her to say yes, is that selfish?' she whispered and I let out a short laugh.

'You couldn't be selfish if you tried' I chuckled, rubbing her arm. 'She had a lot of pros and cons running through her mind, it's going to take her some time to figure out what she really wants' I murmured into her hair, leading her back outside to my car.

'Okay I'll give her time' she sighed. 'But if she says no only because of that bastard, please tell me and I will very happily hunt him down and cut of his dude berries' she growled as I chuckled.

'I'll be sure to let you know, though I doubt she'd deny the offer just for that' I smiled, opening the door so she could climb in before going around to the driver's side.

'Wow…' she whispered as I drove out of the parking lot, I shot her a curious glance but her mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts from the chaos of today.

'What?' I asked.

'You're a vampire, just…woah, it's a lot to take in' she murmured more to herself than me as we pulled in at the main house.

'Hey, do they know that I know now?' she whispered, suddenly excited.

'Umm, my dad and mom do, so does Alice but the others don't yet…why?' I asked, curious about the mischievous look on her face.

'Just don't tell them, and make sure that you parents and Alice don't either, I wanna think of a way to torture them or something, I still haven't got back at Emmett for the water pistol fight' she chuckled, rubbing her hands together.

'You do realise that you were planning on getting soaked right? That's the point of a water fight' I pointed out and she raised her eyebrow as we headed to the door.

'Yes but he wasn't supposed to put bright green permanent dye in a bucket of water an drench me with it, I looked like the wicked witch of the west for a whole day after that. I had to go to my cousin's birthday party with green skin!' she hissed, slapping me on the arm as I laughed at the memory.

'Okay okay I give; I'll let you plan your revenge. Be careful though, vampire hearing' I murmured before opening the door the front door and following her in, listening to the various plans of attack she was going through in her head, most were ridiculous.

'Hey honey' mom smiled, kissing me on the cheek and rolling her eyes when I grumbled.

'I'd go with plan c' dad whispered to Eve, who looked confused for a second before her eyes widened and let out a laugh. I saw the plan in her mind and had to admit it was pretty genius, we just needed Nelle and some good actors.

'You think it'll work?' she whispered, looking around for Emmett who was…_busy_ upstairs with Rose.

'Yeah, and don't worry…he's otherwise occupied at the moment so we can talk for another…five minutes. Boy I thought he'd have more stamina than that' Alice giggled as she came in while Elsie just looked sick as she trailed behind her.

'Remind me to invent earplugs that can block…_that_ out' she grimaced as everyone laughed at her discomfort, we were all used to it.

'So I hear you know about vampires now, scared?' She asked as she took a seat at the counter and grinning in what she obviously thought was a menacing manner.

'Not really' Eve shrugged, 'it's kind of hard to think of you all as scary when I look at Alice' she laughed while Alice chuckled.

'It's because I'm adorable' she sighed, before slamming her hands down on the counter, 'right troops. We need a few things if we want to scare Emmett into peeing himself' she whispered, taking out a pad and paper and pulling it out while Eve smiled anticipatorily. 'Bella, call Nelle and get her butt down here. Elsie, Eve's gonna need your skills to rig something that can do this' she said, passing a piece of paper to Elsie who frowned for a second before bursting out into laughter.

'Genius, I can't wait to see dad's face' she chuckled, showing the paper to Zack who rolled his eyes and laughed.

'Jazzy honey, you don't need to do much, just make him real scared. Though I have a feeling he will be anyway' she grinned and Jasper kissed her on the cheek. 'The rest of you, let everyone else in on the plan, we're going to need some good acting if this is all going to go smoothly, Carlisle and Esme will be home soon and we need to let them in on it. Also, Rose should know…basically everyone except for Emmett. Eve…what do you think about leather?' she grinned.

'Umm, great Al…but what exactly _is_ the plan?' Bella asked, raising her eyebrow and looking between Eve and Alice.

'Okay, so here it is…Alice, you fill in on extra details that you see working' Eve giggled, leaning forward to whisper. 'This is what we're going to do…'

* * *

><p>'Oh god oh god oh god! Help!' I screamed, letting my voice fill with panic as I sprinted towards the house, everyone spilled out into the garden and looked at me with shocked and confused expressions.<p>

'Oh god, what happened? Where's Carlisle?' Esme gasped, running her hands over the torn and blackened remains of my clothes as I almost collapsed on the ground.

'It-it's Eve, we told her about us being vampires and…oh god!' I gasped for air as Carlisle came running out of the trees behind me, a look of pure fear and pain on his face as he stumbled across the lawn before collapsing to the ground as his body began to convulse, smoke coming from him and engulfing him as strange black foam came out of his screaming mouth. In a matter of seconds he had disappeared, leaving only a fine blackish grey powdery ash on the ground where he had been.

'Nooooo!' Esme screamed, running over to the pile of ashes and sobbing a little too dramatically.

'Who did this?' Jasper roared, hiding the grin on his face with a snarl.

'E-E-Eve, we…told her about us and-she's a _slayer'_ I gasped, stumbling over to them and falling into my dad's arms.

'No! A _slayer_? But I thought the last of them died!' Alice gasped, shaking with apparent fear.

'Wha-what's a slayer?' Emmett, asked, fear and caution in his eyes…probably slightly due to Jasper.

'They're an ancient myth, supposed to have died out centuries ago' Edward whispered, a foreboding look in his eye. 'They are one of the few things that pose a threat to vampires. Humans born and raised specifically to kill vampires. All that holy water and stakes crap comes from them, though the holy water is an ancient potion that can burn a vampire to ash, and they don't need stakes to kill you…just their minds' he gulped, clinging onto my mom tightly.

'Eve's a slayer?' Nessie whimpered as Jake growled menacingly. Emmett's eyes were wide as he looked between us; almost jumping a mile when we heard a screech from the trees.

'Oh god, she's here! We can't run now, it's too late' I gasped, sliding into a crouch as Eve flew towards us from the trees. She hurled through the air, the tight leather outfit would have usually made me drool if I weren't busy acting, she landed in a crouch and growled at us, stepping closer to Esme who was still sobbing on the lawn.

'Esme no!' Alice screamed as Esme's head snapped up, Eve pulled out some sort of vial and hurled it at her, covering her in a bright silver liquid.

She began to hiss in pain, falling to the ground and writhing as smoke began to billow out of her clothes, drenching the air with the smell of fire as more of that black liquid came spilling out of her mouth and she cried in agony. She shook violently once, twice, three times before clutching her heart and slumping, allowing her eyes to roll back in her head as her body began to disappear into a pile of ashes.

'MOM!' Emmett screamed, being held back by Jasper and Edward as he tried to hurl himself at Eve.

'No one can stop me now! I'll get you' Eve cackled, throwing vials everywhere as my family began to stumble around, calling out in pain and clinging to their loved ones as smoke began to swarm around them, engulfing their bodies as they cried out in shrieks of pain before disappearing like Esme into a pile of blackened remains. I was the second to last to go, holding out my hand to my lost love of Eve as the foul smelling stuff spilled from my mouth, these pellets really did taste like shit but they looked very effective indeed.

I watched as Emmett backed away…no longer intent on a fight as he saw the piles of ashes that were his family, Rose was groaning on the ground in feigned hurt, Eve had plunged a _magical vampire killing_ _stake_ through her arm which was actually just a wooden contraption made to look like it had stabbed her. He looked absolutely petrified; that was probably due to Jasper who I could see silently laughing as he watched, still invisible though we could see him. Emmett's eyes locked on Eve and he began to shake, she raised her hand with another vial before hurling it at his chest. Fluorescent green liquid splattered across his face and arms and he opened his mouth to scream before looking down at himself in confusion, patting down his chest as if expecting pain then hesitantly smelling the liquid on his fingers.

'Paint?' he asked, bewildered at the fact that Eve was now rolling on the ground laughing with Rose in hysterics, beating the grass as she tried to control her laughter.

'Yo-your face was s-so funny' she gasped, clutching her stomach, 'Nelle you can stop it now' she chuckled, bursting into laughter at the shock on Emmett's face when the whole family magically appeared, all bent over in hysterics as Esme took photos.

'What the hell?' he shouted, as Jasper went over and patted his back.

'You really don't get it do you bro?' he chuckled, while Emmett blinked in confusion.

'So she's not…and you're all not…' he trailed off before laughing in a deep bellowing laugh that rang out in the garden. 'How the hell did you pull it off?' he grinned as Eve took a bow.

'Well it was all because of my helpers' she grinned, kissing me on the cheek and gesturing to Alice, Nelle and Elsie who all curtseyed while still laughing. 'You see, I wanted to get you back for the green dye incident' she chuckled as Emmett raised his eyebrow at her. 'and I had several ideas, Edward pointed out that pretending to be some descendant of a long line of fictional slayers would work the best and Alice helped me plan it out' she grinned.

'I made a contraption that released smoke and ash at the right moments' Elsie said, gesturing to me as I lifted up my t-shirt to reveal a series of metal discs that were strapped to various places.

'And I turned myself invisible, allowing it to appear as if Eve was literally flying through the air when I was really just carrying her. Then I turned each person invisible as they _died'_ Nelle said, using air quotes and laughing, 'you should have seen your face!'

'Of course I picked out the outfit!' Alice chirped, pointing to Eve who blushed and tried to pull down the slightly revealing leather top to cover her stomach, I just smiled and hugged her to my side.

'I never expected something so devious from you' he grinned, grabbing Eve and pulling her up into a hug as he swung her around in the air, her laughter was slightly breathless when he let her down finally, I had to catch her before she fell over from dizziness. 'I really should have guessed it was all made up though' he shrugged.

'Why? It was perfect! I almost believed it myself' Esme exclaimed, raising her eyebrows at Emmett who chuckled.

'Well, I'm sorry mom…but you can't act to save your life'.

* * *

><p>It was Friday, a full two days since Carlisle had made Eve's mom the offer of immortality, and I could tell that the waiting was getting to Eve. She wanted more than anything to save her mom's life and was trying not to pressure her and let her make her decision. I had pointed out that it wasn't a small thing to decide, it was perhaps the biggest life decision a person could make, most people didn't have any choice in the matter and were changed either while suffering fatal wounds or illness or turned against their will like with Angela.<p>

Fiona had requested to speak with each of the family members to get their opinion on immortal life, wanting to see all possible pros and cons. She had even talked to Eric and Katlyn, listening to their story of being saved by a vampire after their village was slaughtered and had spent the last day in isolation, refusing to see anyone as she thought things over.

'Stop jumping up and down, you're making me nervous' I chuckled as we lined up in the cafeteria.

'I can't help it, she asked to see us later and I just know she's seen sense' she whispered, grabbing an apple and placing it on my tray before following me to the register where I paid for both of our lunches.

'I know you're anxious but just remember to support her no matter what she decides okay?' I reminded her as she slumped in defeat.

'Yeah I know, I will. I just can't help but hope that she makes the right decision' she sighed as we sat down next to Nessie and Finn.

'The right decision will be whatever choice she makes' I smiled slightly, kissing her on the temple and wrinkling my nose slightly when she took a bite of her sandwich.

'Gross' I muttered as she ate, human food…ew.

'What? Just because you can't eat, I can't enjoy food? Boy you better know your place' she huffed, smiling as she high fived Elsie who sat down next to her. 'Wait a minute, when I went to dinner at your house you were eating…what was up with that?' she asked, tilting her head curiously.

'Oh he wanted to spend time with you but was too much of a chicken so he pretended to be hungry so he could have dinner with you' Nessie laughed, rubbing her arm when I punched her lightly.

'Aww, that's sweet…what did it taste like?' she asked.

'Crap' I smiled, 'but worth every bite'.

'Oh how romantic, I think I'm gonna puke' Finn chuckled and I raised my eyebrow at him…he was hiding something but I couldn't figure out what, his mind was all warped and indistinct, it had been all week.

'Finn…you haven't been hanging out with the crypt keepers or their leader have you?' I asked, suddenly anxious as his mind had a similar pattern to theirs.

'Oh god no, not those murderers?' Eve hissed, we had told her our suspicions about them and she immediately believed them to be responsible for Lisa's death, though the police ruled it a mugging gone wrong, we had let her know the real circumstances.

'We can't be sure they had anything to do with it. Though it is a huge coincidence' Nessie sighed.

'I'm not hanging out with them' Finn responded, smiling.

'Then why is you mind all…wobbly?' I asked suspiciously.

'It's a surprise…you'll see' he chuckled, ignoring my glare and staring out the window.

'Is it something to do with why Alice and Edward's gifts are acting up?' Elsie asked, glancing at him as he shrugged nonchalantly but didn't respond. It was like pulling teeth trying to get him to talk.

'Fine, don't answer. Child!' Elsie groaned, picking up her tray and dragging Zack to their next class just as the bell rung.

'Come on, time for gym' Nessie grinned, pulling on mine and Eve's shoulders and nodding her head to the doors.

'How can you stand going to gym class when you're so fast?' Eve whispered as we walked towards the gym.

'It's just part of the act, we have to' I shrugged before kissing her briefly and heading towards my changing room.

'You know, I never really saw little Eve as an option until he came along, I bet she's a real firecracker in bed…the quiet ones always are' some guys voice came from the other side of the lockers and I tried to block out the stream of thoughts that were threatening to make me snap.

'But why her though, all of the girls are practically throwing themselves at him. He could be swimming in it by now, I know Tiffany has made a play for him' his friend asked.

'I don't know, she's kinda hot now she has a life, don't know what he girls see in him though, it's probably because he's a shiny new toy. Now that Nessie, his sister…she is hot!' someone laughed.

'Noo, Elsie any day, you reckon the carpet matches the drapes?' the first guy asked, causing the others to laugh. Their laughter was cut short when a loud bang sounded out through the room, I noticed that I had punched a dent in the metal locker and had to rush to straighten it out before anyone saw. I grunted in anger and left the changing room, jogging over to Eve and Nessie as they waited by the bleachers.

'We heard, well…me and Elsie heard I and showed Eve what they were saying' Nessie growled, glaring at the boys in question as thy exited the changing room chuckling, looking over at us.

'As if I would ever touch them' Elsie huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

'Um guys…' Eve whispered, getting our attention, 'why is one of the crypt keepers coming over?' I looked over to see the dark haired girl, Hannah, gliding...well _trying_ to glide, towards us. Her thoughts were still a mystery to us but she seemed a little exited.

'Evelyn, would you mind if I talk to you and your companion?' she sighed, glancing over at Nessie and Elsie who were standing by looking confused. They shot me a questioning glance and I nodded infinitesimally at them before they shrugged and walked off.

'What do you want?' I asked, Eve was obviously uncomfortable and she hadn't said a word yet, thoughts of Lisa and guilt that she hadn't been able to stop her from getting involved with them swimming in her mind.

'No need to be angry young one' she smiled and I raised my eyebrow. 'I would just like to show my…condolences towards Eve for her loss, I know she…_cared_ about dear Lisa' she sighed.

'Yeah well it's all your fau-' Eve began to hiss before I squeezed her hand…I didn't want them thinking she was a liability and sending their vamp friend after her, even though I'd protect her.

'As I was saying, the others and I would like you to know that we are _watching_ out for you, just to make sure that the grief doesn't get too much. We would hate for something bad to happen, if you were to start asking questions I am sure it would be sign of depression and mental instability. I know your mother and grandmother would hate for you to worry yourself into an early grave' she smirked

'Is that a threat?' I growled and she shrugged.

'No, I'm simply stating that grief can cause problems in the young mind, people become careless…accidents happen. If she were to keep being suspicious of us she may become absent minded, someone could take advantage of that' she smiled, 'well I must go, goodbye' she sighed before spinning around and joining her group again, they all glanced at us before continuing on with their stoic expressions.

'What was that all about?' Nessie asked as her and Elsie came back over. 'Did she just threaten Eve?'

'Yes she did, that bitch! I knew she had something to do with Lisa's death, I told you!' Eve hissed and I sighed.

'Yes, I believe that too, but you have to be careful. They may be harmless…but the vampire they're hanging out with is an unknown quantity, we don't know what they're capable of and I don't want you to be targeted' I whispered, hugging her as her shoulders slump.

'Okay, I'll pretend to be frightened into silence, but I don't like it!' she huffed, looking up at me, 'just tell me your all gonna get her, whoever she is' she asked, narrowing her eyes.

'Yes, we just need to be careful on how to go about it' I sighed, rubbing her arm. 'All in due time though, all in due time'.

* * *

><p>'What do you think she's going to say?' Eve asked as we walked through the hospital.<p>

'I don't know, I've been trying to give her some mental privacy so she can be alone with her thoughts' I shrugged and she grumbled.

'What's the point of being a mind reader then? Though, it would be handy in exams' she grinned, tapping her chin.

'If you think I'll help you cheat you've got another thing coming sweet cheeks' I chuckled as we neared her mom's hospital room. Carlisle and Esme were already outside waiting with curious and anticipatory expressions. Esme smiled softly and opened the door, letting us all go in front of her before closing the door behind her and taking a seat next to Carlisle. The atmosphere in the room was almost palpable as Eve clasped my hand tightly; staring at her mother who I think was getting a kick out of making us wait.

'Carlisle I have thought over your offer and come up with my answer' she said straight faced, not giving away anything as she recited poker rules in her head, obviously some of my family had given her tips on hiding her thoughts.

'And what would that decision be Fiona?' Esme asked, she was anxious to find out, she hadn't lied when she said that she saw Fiona as a sister, she didn't want to lose her but understood if she would not want the life of a vampire.

'I accept' she paused, smiling slightly, 'I am willing to become a vampire'.

* * *

><p><strong>Why are women so indecisive? Fictional ones even more so it seems. Let me know what you think.<strong>


	13. Glitter

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, nor the characters created by Meyer. The rest of the content is new though.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: Elsie POV<p>

* * *

><p>There it was again, that same silver motorbike I had been seeing everywhere all week. Was someone following me? I knew it was a guy, the build was definitely masculine and I'd made a list in my head; tall, slightly tanned skin…that was it. His helmet usually hid most of his facial features but I knew it was the same person, I just couldn't figure out <em>why<em> he was everywhere. I didn't think he was a threat; I hadn't gotten any malicious vibes from him, just curiosity, so I tried to ignore him…though it was pretty hard.

'What do you think she's going to say?' Nessie asked as we watched Jay and Eve drive out of the school parking lot towards the hospital. Her mother was making her decision today; it was a pretty big deal, deciding whether or not to accept an immortal life.

'I'm not sure, I hope she says yes. I like Eve, I don't want her to lose her mom' I sighed, climbing onto my bike. 'I'll see you later, I need to stop by the auto shop and pick something up' I said, climbing onto my Ducati and starting the engine.

'See you later Els, tell Jake to come round mine later' she grinned and I rolled my eyes.

'I don't think I could stop him if I wanted to' I chuckled as she drove off; I followed behind her for a while before branching off to the other side of town where Jake and Seth's garage was.

They were getting quite a lot of business by the looks of things, the whole place was filled with cars that were being worked on, and I spotted Jake's boots sticking out from under a truck and kicked his leg, getting his attention.

'Jeez Els, what was that for?' he grumbled, rubbing his head where he had banged it on his way out from under the car, I chuckled and shrugged at him.

'Just thought you would like to know that Nessie wants you to go round hers later' 'I smiled at him, laughing when he perked up at the mention of her name.

'Why didn't you just tell me that instead of kicking me?' he grinned, wiping grease of his hands and standing up.

'Now where's the fun in that?' I teased, 'did they come?' I asked, hopping up and down in excitement.

'Yeah, arrived this morning. Don't know what you'd need them for, they all do different things and work on different machines, half of them aren't even used in engines anymore' he chuckled, handing me several boxes.

'It's not what they're made to do it's what they _can_ do' I grinned, pulling out one of the old rusty pieces. 'I could clean this up and use it with some modifications and add it to _this'_ I said gesturing at another part. 'A few tweaks here and there, some creative thinking and I can make a scooter drive like a Lamborghini' I smirked as he rolled his eyes.

'I'll never be able to get my head around that gift of yours, I swear, you make me and Seth look like kids playing with Lego bricks. You could probably make a fortune with all of your inventions, solve global warming and so on' he chuckled and I shrugged.

'I've tried, it's pretty difficult to do, I came up with a filtration system that cuts emissions down to zero but I'm still having a problem with the whole global warming thing' I sighed.

'Hey did you read that article about the scientist who suddenly came up with a breakthrough in his medical scanner design' he asked and I shrugged.

'I may have heard something about it' I smiled and he raised his eyebrow at me, 'fine! I sent him my blueprints and let him know how to make it work, he was so close it was annoying me' I groaned, crossing my arms over my chest as he chuckled. 'Anyway, don't tell mom, I have to go' I called, shoving the packages in my satchel and running back to my bike.

I drove down the road the circled the lake towards my house, I was quietly humming to the music coming through my helmet and lost in my own world when I spotted a stranded driver on the side of the road who appeared to be having some engine problems. I immediately recognised the silver and black paint job on the motorbike and internally rolled my eyes. It was my stalker, whoever he was, and he seemed to be completely stumped as he fiddled with the bike.

'You're going about it all wrong' I chuckled as I climbed off my bike, he stiffened slightly before turning around, his brown eyes widening when he saw me, I think I saw recognition but I couldn't be sure…though he _had_ been following me so I wouldn't be surprised.

'Oh really, then please do me the honour of letting me know what I'm doing wrong' he grumbled, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrow at me. He was gorgeous to say the least.

'Well first of all, you're looking at the wrong part' I smiled, crouching down by the bike and pointing. 'This model has a problem with dirt and rocks blocking the cooling system and making it over heat, plus one of the cylinders is dangerously close to breaking. When was the last time you got it checked? I asked, rolling my eyes when he blushed but didn't answer.

I sighed to myself and grabbed my satchel, pulling out the packages and sorting through the parts, ignoring his protests as I pulled various bits and pieces off his bike and changed them for a couple of modified components that I had fashioned quickly out of the left overs from my bag and his own parts. It only took about twenty minutes, I had to work human slow because though I had a feeling he wasn't quite human, his scent wasn't blood like…it was more woodsy and smoky with a hint of warm spices, I didn't want to risk exposing myself. Just in case I was wrong.

'There you go' I smiled, looking for somewhere to wipe my hands off, I didn't want to dirty my nice new clothes so I shrugged and cleaned them off on his shirt, ignoring the spark of warmth I felt when I brushed him.

'Hey, wait…what the-' he stuttered, staring down at his now oil stained shirt as I laughed, reaching forward to turn the keys in his engine and grinning when it roared to life, much smoother sounding than I supposed he was used to.

'A thank you would suffice' I smiled, picking my tools off the ground and shoving them back in my bag.

'Thank you?' he murmured, 'are all vampires this pushy?' he asked and I suppressed my shock…I should have expected as much, it was pretty obvious he wasn't human, plus he'd been following me.

'No, not all of us, are all…whatever you are, so stalkerish?' I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at him. He blushed cutely and smiled, rubbing his thick brown hair awkwardly.

'You saw that huh?' he smiled and I rolled my eyes.

'You were pretty obvious; I would like to know why though?' I asked, tilting my head to the side and narrowing my eyes at him.

'Curiosity?' he shrugged and I groaned.

'So you know what I am, what are you?' I asked, not letting him get away as I went to stand in front of his bike, effectively preventing him from driving off.

'Not telling you…yet. You'll find out tomorrow dear' he grinned, grabbing his helmet.

'Promise?' I asked, raising my eyebrow.

'Promise' he agreed, putting his helmet on and flicking the visor back up. 'Just don't let your family know, Finn already does…I want to surprise them!' he grinned and I rolled my eyes, he seemed like the childish type, he'd probably get on great with my dad I thought as he drove off, belatedly realising what he had said. Finn? I am going to murder him when I get home, how could he hide this from us?

I drove home fast, not bothering to park my bike properly as I stormed into the house, throwing my helmet and bag onto a chair and searching for my target. There! I ran full speed and grabbed him, ignoring his yell when I hooked my arm around his neck, forcefully dragging him all the way outside.

'No one come after us!' I growled as everyone looked at me like I was crazy before running off at vampire speed with Finn over my shoulder, only coming to a stop when we were far enough away from the house that no one would hear us either verbally or mentally.

'What the hell Elsie, what was that for?' Finn moaned, rubbing his neck and glaring at me.

'Tell me everything Finn, who…or what are they? When did you meet them? Why didn't you tell us?' I hissed, angry that Finn had kept something possibly threatening to the family from us, though for some reason my gut told me I shouldn't worry and that they were friendly, plus I probably had the hots for the guy, but I couldn't be sure. He looked confused for a second before he sniffed the air around me cautiously, grinning in response.

'So you met one of them, the brother right? I don't smell Lil on you' he smiled and I raised my eyebrow.

'Yes, the brother if you say so, who is Lil?' I asked.

'Lil is the girl I found up a tree watching our family, apparently her and her brother have been spying on us for a while now, curious as to our habits' he shrugged as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

'Wait, how do you know they're not a threat Finn?' I hissed, blowing my hair out of my face and pacing.

'I just know alright, they seemed genuinely curious as to why vampires would deny their natural diet, they were expecting us to be blood crazed weirdos like other vampires they've met but were pleasantly interested in what they found watching us' he smiled, he had a strange look in his eye…

'Oh my god you want to bone that Lil girl don't you, Finn?' I gasped, suddenly amused.

'No…yes, maybe! I don't know! She's interesting, I can't help it. She told me to keep their presence secret so her and her brother could surprise us, I thought it'd be funny so I kept my mouth shut' he smiled sheepishly and I huffed.

'Well the guy I met today seemed nice enough, I just panicked for a second when I found out you knew, it made me think that they'd been corrupting my family. They don't seem the type though' I sighed, 'do you know what they are?' I asked.

'Nope, she never told me. Promised to let us know when we officially meet them though, I've tried tracking their scent but no such luck, it runs cold as soon as it hits the end of the trees' he sighed and I chuckled.

'You got it bad man!' I smiled and he rolled his eyes.

'Shut up Els, don't think I haven't noticed your expression when you mention her brother, a little hot around the collar are we?' he grinned and I sighed, not denying his accusation.

'Come on, let's go back, I'm pretty sure that people are wondering why I dragged you away. You need to work on your self-defence though, you were shockingly easy to attack' I grinned and he huffed.

'You took me by surprise that's all' he grunted and I laughed.

'Yeah, and I'm sure that if you ever get attacked for real, your opponent will send you a very polite letter, warning you of their intentions' I remarked, grinning at the knowledge that I had him there.

'We can't all be ball busters like you' he chuckled as we headed back to the house, everyone was sending us curious looks but I just shrugged them off, citing female hormones as my excuse, even though I didn't get PMS as a vampire. I supposed they expected it from someone related to my mother, her mood swings were notorious, often resulting in a lot of broken furniture and a very grumpy dad.

'I'm going up to my room, later' I called, reciting the manual for my bike in my head in Spanish as I went up the stairs, ignoring the frustrated look that Jay shot me, only sticking my tongue out as I disappeared through my door. Tomorrow was going to be an eventful day indeed.

* * *

><p>'She said yes' Bella smiled as I came downstairs the next day, having spent the night tinkering in my room to keep my mind off the excitement I felt at seeing him later, what was <em>wrong<em> with me?

'Really? Awesome! When is Carlisle doing it?' I asked.

'Probably next week at some point' Carlisle sighed coming in, I gave him a curious look, wasn't he supposed to be working?

'Why aren't you at work?' I asked.

'Finn told me I had to take the day off, apparently we all need to be around all day for some surprise' he sighed and I chuckled to myself, my laughter was cut short by a buzzing in my pocket, I pulled my phone out and felt amusement and confusion as I read my text.

_Get everyone outside_

_Tell them you invented something new or something_

_They're coming_

_Finn_

'Hey…guys, do you reckon I could show you all something outside for a second?' I asked sweetly, Bella shrugged and went off to find Edward and the others while Carlisle called Esme. 'Mom, Dad, Zack!' I yelled up the stairs, 'garden now!' I called, grinning and skipping outside to find Finn with Maddy while Carlisle and Esme walked towards them. Alice and Jasper must still be out, they had had to leave early this morning to sort out delivery of flowers for one of the events she was planning while Marcus and Helena had gone off to some museum about ancient Greece for the day; apparently Marcus found it amusing to see how the humans got everything wrong about his history.

'What's going on Els?' Angela asked as she hugged me, I hadn't seen her in about a week, her and Nahuel tended to stick with each other, they were apparently in their honeymoon period, though it had been seven years.

'You'll see' I smiled as she raised her eyebrow at me, shrugging and going over to join Nahuel who was talking to Seth and Nelle.

I was beginning to wonder where the two mystery people were, I figured they had told Finn to get everyone out into the garden to meet them but I couldn't smell or see them anywhere, I gestured Finn over, giving him a questioning glance but he just shrugged, showing me his phone.

_Hey vamp boy_

_We're almost there_

_Don't laugh too much, my brother is…weird_

_He's not insane, I swear!_

_Lil_

Sure enough I heard laughter trailing out from the trees near the lake, me and Finn moved forward, looking less confused than our family who were all looking between each other to see if anyone knew what was going on. After a couple of seconds two people emerged, I was almost blinded by the sheer amount of glitter as I squinted at the sight, barely containing my laughter as I spotted the guy I had met yesterday.

He was wearing a big pair of sparkly wings over his tshirt and jeans, laughing like a maniac as he skipped in circles. He really did look insane, and the expression of the girl with him who must be his sister Lil was one of annoyance and embarrassment as she walked calmly by his side, similar pink wings strapped to her back as she stared at him with bewilderment. I looked around and spotted my entire family with similar looks of disbelief and amusement on their faces as the girl came to a stop in front of us, smiling briefly at Finn before opening her mouth to speak.

'Hello Cullens I am…wait a second' she huffed, glaring at her brother who was still skipping in circles at super speed, he looked so adorable and dorky that I couldn't help but laugh. She sighed and quickly shot her arm out, clothes-lining him and sending him flying to the ground. My dad guffawed at the sight, leaning on Rose as he laughed at the groaning guy on the floor.

'Anyway…as I was saying!' she chuckled, rolling her eyes as her brother stood up, rubbing his torso and glaring at her. 'My name is Lilian, or Lil and this is my brother Mal' she said, gesturing to him as he smiled and waved in greeting, 'as you can tell, we're not human. We became interested in your family and have been watching you for a while. You know…just to make sure you're not all crazy blood suckers' she grinned.

'So what are you?' Finn asked and she rolled her eyes, 'patience vamp boy, I promised I'd tell you didn't I?' she smiled and Carlisle looked to his son suspiciously.

'You two have met?' he asked.

'Yeah, I caught her in a tree watching us and had a little chat with her; she made me promise not to say anything before her and her brother revealed themselves. I didn't realise it would involve glitter though' he chuckled.

'Can they be trusted?' Carlisle whispered low enough so that only me and Finn could hear, he nodded and I joined him, smiling slightly as I shrugged.

'What? I ran into the guy yesterday, they seem trustworthy' I whispered to Carlisle who sighed and straightened up again.

'So you've been watching us…wait, it was you at the hospital wasn't it?' Carlisle asked, chuckling and she nodded sheepishly in response. 'So what are you?'

'Can you guess?' Mal grinned, hopping up and down.

'Are you….a ballerina?' my dad chuckled while Mal frowned, crossing his arms.

'No, the wings are supposed to be a hint idiot. Elsie, why didn't you tell me your dad was mentally challenged' he asked and I had to laugh at my dad's expression as my mom laughed with me.

'He has his good days and his bad days' I smiled, 'he's right though, you look a bit like an idiot. Are you a pixie?'

'Close…' Lil grinned.

'Fairy?' Carlisle asked.

'Bingo!' Mal yelled, pulling his wings off while Lil threw hers away with distaste.

'So you're fairies, may I ask why you've been following us?' Carlisle asked.

'And why you've been messing with mine, my son's and my sister's gifts?' Edward asked and the girl blushed slightly.

'Sorry, my brother didn't want any of you picking up our thoughts or seeing our future so I tweaked you gifts a little, I'll put them back to normal now' she grimaced, closing her eyes for a second, 'done' she smiled.

'Wow, I hear you now…ha you fell out of a tree' Jay laughed and Lil harrumphed.

'It was Finn's fault, he startled me. Anyway, back to answering Carlisle's question; we live in the area, so upon smelling some vamps, we got concerned. We like humans and didn't want some creepy undead people feeding off them. So we followed you, then of course we became curious about your diet and lifestyle. You're very unique and a powerful family. Where is the future seer and empath by the way?' she asked, as we headed back into the house.

'Exactly how much did you tell her son?' Carlisle asked as Esme shepherded us towards the house, the family wasn't hostile, just cautious and interested in Lil and Mal, eyeing them curiously as we stepped into the living room.

'Don't look at me; she already knew about all of this' he shrugged as Lil chuckled.

'I'm sorry, it's my gift; I can sense, dull or intensify powers' she smiled, 'my brother can knock people out' she shrugged and my dad started looking at Mal in a completely different light, an anticipatory smile stretching across his face.

'Do me!' he grinned, hopping up and down slightly, Mal gave me a questioning look and I moaned, gesturing for him to go ahead. The next thing I knew my dad's eyes had rolled back in his head before he crumpled to the floor, mom reached out to catch him, slapping his face lightly before hissing at Mal.

'Woah! He's the one who asked me to!' he rushed, holding his hands up in surrender, 'he'll be fine in a couple of minutes, he's just unconscious' he shrugged and my mom let out an annoyed grunt as she pulled my dad's limp body back onto the sofa.

'That's quite impressive Mal' Carlisle smiled and everyone nodded their heads in agreement while dad moaned softly on the sofa, slumping against Zack who just rolled his eyes.

'You don't look like fairies' Bella pointed out, I hadn't ever seen a fairy before but I hadn't imagined them to look so…human.

'Fairies look just like humans' Lil shrugged, 'probably because we're part human to begin with. It really depends on how much fae blood someone has in them, if they have enough, they stop aging once they reach maturity and their powers emerge, sometimes powers turn up before they become fae but very rarely. We were raised by our great grandmother when our parents died back in the early sixties, she realised that we had fae blood and told us about our heritage' Lil smiled.

'So your great-great grandmother is…fae, what about your parents?' Edward asked.

'The fairy genes are very weird, they skip generations, two faes can have a child that is completely human or in the case of our parents, two humans each with a little fae blood can produce fae children. My great-great grandmother was like me and my brother, the only person in her family that the fairy genes were dominant in, though she didn't have anyone to help her understand and was cast away from her family. We never really found out if we had any other family with the fairy genes, the only other person was apparently our great aunt but she died before the change to fairy immortality occurred' she sighed.

'So where is your great-great grandmother now?' Carlisle asked.

'Please refer to her as Nancy, it can get quite a mouthful referring to her as our great-great grandmother, besides, she looks the same age as us. She stopped aging around twenty a few years after giving birth to my grandmother, her husband was very religious and called her a witch once he realised that she wasn't aging so he attempted to kill her, fortunately she let him believe he had succeeded and went into hiding. She always kept close by though, that was how she was able to help us when we needed her. To answer your question she'll be stopping by soon, she flew up from Mississippi this morning' Lil smiled as the door crashed open.

'Guys, you won't believe what the florist went and did, he tried to charge me double what we'd negot-' Alice froze in the doorway, looking between Mal and Lil who were smiling hesitantly up at her, Jasper was about to get defensive until Carlisle gave him a small nod, showing everything was okay.

'So you two were the ones who have been playing with my visions!' she growled, stomping over to the sofa and waiting for Jasper to sit down so she could sit on his lap.

'Sorry about that…' Lil began, waiting for her name.

'Alice, and this is Jasper' she gestured to him.

'We had to make sure you wouldn't ruin our surprise, you can blame Mal' Lil chuckled and Alice sighed. 'It's fixed now'.

'No it's not, you're still slightly fuzzy!' she huffed, Carlisle cleared his throat.

'They aren't human Alice, it's probably like the wolves' he pointed out and Alice pouted.

'Great, another species I don't get…though you're a lot clearer than the pack are. Probably because you're closer to human or something' she smiled slightly. 'Ness, do you mind catching me up?' she asked, Nessie walked over and placed her palm to her cheek, closing her eyes for a second before letting go and walking back over to Jake. 'You really looked ridiculous in those wings Mal, what were you thinking?' Alice chirped and everyone laughed while Mal grumbled. I patted him softly on the back to comfort him as he tried not to blush.

After a few more rounds of questions and jokes at the expense of Mal there was a knock on the door and Esme jumped slightly, getting up to go answer it while Mal and Lil gave her encouraging looks, she opened the door to reveal a short brunette woman with slightly tanned skin and hazel eyes, she was positively hopping with happiness as she hugged Esme suddenly, laughing at her shock.

'Sorry' she smiled in a beautiful southern voice, 'it's just that Mal and Lillian have told me so much about all of you and I feel like I know y'all already' she laughed and Mal looked slightly guilty.

'We literally only just met you, stalker' I whispered and laughed.

'Oh Elsie!' the woman squealed loudly, almost attacking me when I stood up to greet her. 'I'm so happy to meet you, Mal didn't tell me just how pretty you were, well he did but it doesn't do you justice' she sang and I noticed Mal blush as my dad eyed him suspiciously, he was awake now.

'Umm hello Mrs…' I trailed off.

'Nancy, please call me Nancy, all of you! Oh you must be Carlisle and Bella and Edward. Rose of course and Emmett! Oh Renesmee you are a peach aren't you' she rushed, never taking a breath,.

'I should explain that she has the gift of automatically knowing people's names and ages, basic information and so on' Lil whispered and we nodded in understanding as she continued greeting everyone as if she had known us for years.

She was like a whirlwind as she sped around the room, hugging everyone while we all stood shocked, just staring at the sight. She finally got to Alice and Jasper who looked at her cautiously, though Alice's expression was more confused as she stared at Nancy, as if she were trying to figure out where she had seen her before. Nancy met her eye and froze, gasping and clutching her chest as she stared at Alice, a tear trailing down her cheek as we all wondered what had caused that reaction.

'Mary?' she whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Cliff hanger much? I know I promised not to do it but that's life. I have some assignments for uni so I wasn't able to write as much as I would have hoped, I promise to make an effort to get at least one chapter out a month until my schedule clears up. Anyway, let me know what you think of this one :D**


	14. Family Ties

Chapter 14: Alice's POV

* * *

><p>'Mary?' the woman asked, she looked familiar but I couldn't place her.<p>

It was like when you have the name of a book or a movie you are trying to remember on the very tip of your tongue, I could feel the foggy memory trying to claw its way up to the surface but it was like trying to grasp smoke, it just kept slipping through my fingers the harder I attempted to get a hold on it. It was frustrating. She appeared to be crying now and I felt a really strong urge to hold onto her, even though she was a stranger to me. I felt my eyebrows crease in concentration as I tried to remember her again, only able to come up with a smoky image that disappeared almost instantly.

'Alice, my name is Alice' I whispered, frowning.

'That's your middle name, your full name is Mary Alice Brandon isn't it' she smiled shakily, visibly trying to hold herself steady as she shook.

'Yes but ho-' I began, only to be cut off by her form colliding with me and wrapping her arms around my body as she wept uncontrollably. I hugged her back, inhaling her scent, she smelt like a mixture of honey suckle, gardenias and spices as her aroma enveloped me, it made me feel safe and warm though I had no idea why.

'Can someone explain what's going on here?' Carlisle asked and I was brought out of my thoughts as I reluctantly let go of her, taking in her appearance with curiosity as more foggy images filled my mind. I still couldn't see any of them clearly.

'Do you really not remember me? From when you were human…think honey' Nancy whispered, taking a seat and clasping onto my hand, though I didn't mind…it felt nice to have her warmth in my icy cold palm.

'I-I don't remember my human memories, I woke up as a vampire without any memory, only visions of the future and my life with the Cullens and my mate Jasper' I whispered, smiling at Jasper. Nancy looked disappointed but I continued anyway, 'I found out years ago that I had been in an insane asylum as a human, apparently I suffered from visions of the future. A tracker named James revealed that he had tried to hunt me; some vampire was apparently working at the hospital and had protected me, turning me into a vampire before James could get to me. It seems that James killed him for stopping him from feeding off me. That's all I know' I sighed and she sniffed.

'I always wondered what happened to Theodore' she smiled sadly before becoming angry, 'where is this bastard James, I would quite like to tear him apart' she growled slightly.

'Dead, he came after my Bella when she was human and we killed him' Edward explained.

'Wait…how do you know me though, who is Theodore?' I asked, could this woman really be someone from my human life?

'Nancy, perhaps I could try to restore her memories, that may help' Lil suggested and I stiffened in my seat, could she really do that?

'Yes please' I gasped, letting out a small sob.

'How is that possible?' Carlisle asked.

'Well, you know of my gift…' she said and he nodded, 'the reason why she cannot see her memories from human life, also why she has problems viewing certain people…is because her gift is broken' she explained and I looked at her blankly, 'something traumatic must have happened to her brain before her change, creating mental blocks and gaps in her power and memory. If I strengthen her gift, repairing the broken pieces, I should be able to restore her memories as well' she shrugged and I nodded emphatically. She smiled and came over, placing hands on my temples and closing her eyes in preparation.

'This may hurt' she whispered but I nodded my head anyway. Closing my eyes as I felt her power spread through my mind.

And then it happened.

Hundreds, thousands of images bombarded me and I felt myself collapse to the ground, cold hands gripped me as I screamed, a lifetime of memories all rushing into my mind as I saw everything I had lost.

* * *

><p><strong><em>My sister, Cynthia, and I running through a field, her dark hair in piggy-tails as she giggled happily and ran away from me during our game of hide and seek.<em>**

**_My first vision and how much it had scared me, especially when no one believed me._**

__

_******_

**_The way my mom was so happy when I helped her clean the house, her beautiful mahogany hair shining in the sun as she laughed and blew bubbles in my face from the washing up water._**

**_Weekends spent with my cousins and how they had treated me once I revealed my visions to them, the loneliness and desperation I felt as people whispered behind my back and called me 'changeling'._**

**_The way my father had stared at my angelic and ageless mother, whispering of witch craft and sorcery when he thought I couldn't hear him._**

**_The vision I had of my mother being murdered and how I had begged her to listen to me, only to see her get slaughtered before my eyes regardless of my warning._**

**_My father's new wife, how she had been so cold and horrid to me, calling me a freak while worshipping my sister. Cynthia was the only person who would talk to me about how much I missed my mother._**

**_The horrifying vision I had when I saw how my father had been the one to have my mother killed, my fear as I tried to run away, only to be found my him._**

**_How I was sent away to the mental hospital because he knew that I had seen his evil secret. They had shaved my hair and tortured me, speaking of taking the demons out of my body._**

**_The day when my memories ran away from the pain, I felt free and happy until they began to shock me again. So much agony._**

**_The only escape was the beautiful man, with caring golden eyes and onyx hair. I called him Uncle Teddy and he helped keep me safe, protecting me from the shock treatments and bringing me toys. Even helping me through puberty when I had no mother alive to support me._**

**_The time when Teddy told me it was my birthday and he gave me a beautiful silver locket with a picture of himself and me in it. My sadness when I had lost the photograph one day and how I had cried._**

**_How that same day I had had a vision of a stone white demon with burning red eyes, coming to end my life. I had told Teddy and had seen the panic in his golden stare._**

**_I remembered the burning, the fire consuming my body as he ran with me. The cold feel of the ground as he placed me down._**

**_The sound of screeching metal and the smell of fire as I lay trapped in agony._**

**_The way that the evil man's breath had brushed against my face as he whispered in my ear. 'Your protector has gone now, he had to pay for taking my meal. Goodbye little girl, welcome to immortality'_**

**_How his voice had sent shivers down my spine before the fire became too much, consuming everything as it burnt a path through my body._**

**_The blackness I had felt when I woke up. The shock at seeing my new body and the uncertainty of not knowing who I was or even what I was before I saw the locket, no pictures…just the words 'to my little Mary Alice Brandon' inscribed on the ornate back._**

* * *

><p>All of the memories hit me like a storm, swarming around my mind as I felt myself shaking on the floor, surrounded by the muffled cries of my family as they gathered around me in panic and fear. I slowly opened my eyes, seeing the topaz gaze of my Jasper a few inches away as I took a in deep breath. I looked around and ignored their fluttering as they asked if I was okay, merely nodding silently as I searched for the person I wanted to see more than anything. I found her finally, sitting on the floor beside me, her hazel eyes swimming with tears as she watched me.<p>

'Mom?' I whispered before hurling myself into her arms and sobbing.

* * *

><p>'What's happening, Alice honey are you okay?' Jasper's worried voice broke into my conscience and I let go of my mother, smiling up at her and wiping away her tears.<p>

'I'm fine' I laughed; almost hysterically as I pulled myself back onto the sofa. My whole family was staring at me with wide and anxious eyes, though Jay and Edward looked less confused, but equally as shocked.

'Jasper Whitlock I'd like you to meet Nancy Brandon, Jasper…this is my mother' I grinned and he almost jumped in shock, his eyes wary as he looked between us.

'Bu-how?' he whispered and I could tell everyone else needed answers to. I had to agree with him, she was supposed to be dead.

'Actually, I'd like to know as well. Not that I'm not happy to have my memories back and to see you again but…you died. I saw you with my own eyes!' I said, people were starting to figure it out now, I must admit that I did look awfully like her.

'Well it's a long story' she sighed, holding onto my hand and smiling sadly, 'But I'll tell you anyway. Mal and Lil already know some of it' she said, gesturing over to them as they shared the same confused expressions as the rest of us on the other sofa. She took a deep breath and kissed my hand, smiling before she began.

'My full name is Nancy Smith. I was very young when I married a man named George Brandon, a jeweller in Biloxi, Mississippi where I had grown up. I loved him a lot, though he could be quite cold on occasion. He gave me two wonderful daughters, Alice and Cynthia, and I was truly happy' she smiled at me, 'little did I know that I had magical blood running through my veins, my parents had died when I was little so I had no idea what was happening when I began to change. I stopped aging when my youngest was still small, I became strong and fast. I had no idea what was happening at all' she sighed.

'I did some research and found a man named Theodore; he was a vampire and could see that I was not human. He helped me to discover the truth and we found out that I was actually what some would call a fairy, my parents must have carried the gene and passed it down to me and it came into effect when I reached my physical maturity; I noticed that my eldest daughter Alice had a gift and spoke to him about it, we discovered that she had the same fae blood as me and that was the root behind her gifts. He speculated that once she reached her physical peak, she would become immortal like I had' she whispered and I gasped.

'I'm…a fairy?' I asked, everyone else seemed as shocked as me.

'No dear, you _would_ have eventually become a fairy, if you had not been turned into a vampire beforehand' she smiled slightly, squeezing my hand as I gestured for her to continue.

'Anyway, my little angel warned me one day of a vision she had had in which I died, of course I believed her, though it saddened me. I took measures to keep myself safe, but I had seen in my husband's eyes what he was planning' she sighed and everyone gasped.

'You're husband killed you? Or…tried to I'm guessing' Esme whispered and she nodded her head sadly.

'George was as I said a cold man, very practical and extremely religious in his views. I had hidden my…uniqueness from him and had tried my best to keep Alice's a secret. I knew he would think it was the work of the devil or something and feared what he would do to her if he found out. He wasn't stupid though; he saw through me and accused me of being a witch. We got into a fight one night and he stormed out. I thought that was the end of it until I overheard him the next day, plotting with a woman to murder me' she whispered and I squeezed her hand.

'I knew then that I had to do something, I couldn't bring myself to kill him, even to protect myself…I still loved him. I also wanted to protect my daughter. So Theodore and I came up with a plan, let him think I was dead…though it would kill me to put my children through that pain, I knew I stood a better chance at protecting them from a distance, without having to look over my shoulder all the time for my husband. So of course I allowed my attacker to believe I was dead, using animal blood to fake the fatal wounds and arranging it so Theodore was the person who 'discovered' my body' she sighed.

'I watched from afar, wishing that my husband wouldn't see the same traits in my daughter that I had, luckily she was still young and he attributed her visions to childish fantasies. That was until one day, she must have had a vision of the truth behind his actions towards me, I watched as she ran, praying that he wouldn't come for her. I didn't know what to do when she was taken to that hospital; I knew he put her in there to prevent the truth about my so called murder coming out'.

She really had been there through it all, I couldn't bring myself to be angry at her for letting me believe she was dead. I could see how it really was the only way she could protect me and was angry at my father's memory for putting us through that.

'I sent Theodore into the hospital; I couldn't go myself because I was supposed to be dead, and so I relied on him to watch over her. I knew he would not feed from her as he kept to an animal based diet, as I can see all of you do' she said, gesturing to my family and I, 'he would come home every day and fill me in on how you were doing. It broke my heart to hear about the shock treatments and physical tortures that those so called doctors put you through, obsessed with the idea that you were somehow possessed or insane. It was sick' she spat, anger in her eyes.

'But I couldn't do anything, when you lost your memory I felt such pain, my sweet little girl had been through so much in her life and I was powerless to help. My only solace was that Theodore was able to protect you from most of the treatments, bringing you toys that I had given him and telling me about how well you were growing up. He would bring me pictures, you were such a beautiful girl…still are' she smiled down at me.

'He didn't come back one night, I went to the hospital and found no trace of you, I couldn't track his scent and thought he had left. I overheard one of the orderlies talking, they had found blood in your room and I assumed the worst. I believed you to be dead…' she sobbed, hugging me to her.

'After that I spent my life watching over Cynthia and her children, hoping that I would be able to protect them where I had failed to protect you. I watched as her children grew up and married, she died and the future generations continued to live on. There were no signs of fairy blood in any of them, it must have been dormant and from my extensive research I had learned that it skipped erratically over generations, so I wasn't that surprised when young Mal and Lilian came along., Cynthia's grandchildren' she smiled over at Lil and Mal.

'When my grandson and his wife died in a car accident, I faked a will placing them under my care. They were young teenagers by this point but I could already see the fae in them. I didn't want them to go through the uncertainty that I had been through, so I took care of them and raised them, telling them off their heritage as they grew up, before they stopped aging in the seventies. I stayed in Mississippi, moving occasionally while they travelled the world. I'm glad they've moved here though, I never thought I'd see you again' she squealed slightly and gripped me in a hug, crying.

'So wait…Alice is our great Aunt then?' Mal asked and I thought it over, they were Cynthia's grandchildren and Cynthia was my sister so…yep.

'I am little nephew dearest' I laughed before running over to hug them. I was so happy; I went over to hug Esme too.

'You're still my mom as well' I whispered, though she was happy, I could see some sadness in her eyes. I didn't want her to think that I would forget about her, I could have two moms if I wanted.

'Thank you Alice, I love you' she smiled, before becoming tackled by my other mother.

'Thank you so much Esme, you'll never know how much' she grinned, squeezing Esme tightly as Carlisle raised his eyebrow. She got up and did the same to Carlisle, then Emmett, Rose, Edward, Bella and finally Jasper. 'Everyone, thank you' she laughed before sitting back down.

'Um…you're welcome, but why?' Emmett asked and she rolled her eyes.

'For looking after my daughter of course, for Esme and Carlisle giving her a home and loving her as a daughter and for all of you being her family' she smiled before kissing Jasper full on the lips which caused his eyes to blink in shock, 'and you for loving my daughter and making her happy' she smiled before turning serious and glaring at him, capturing his face in her hands, 'but if you ever…_ever_ hurt her in any way, I will cut your penis off and wear it like a necklace boy, understand' and I swear Jasper looked more scared than I had ever seen him as he swallowed and nodded slowly.

'Umm….mom' Maddy whispered and I grinned at her nodding before getting my mom's attention.

'Yes dear?' she asked, looking between me and Maddy thoughtfully.

'Na-mom, I'd like you to meet Madeline, or Maddy. My daughter…your granddaughter' I smiled, quickly moving out of the way as she did what I expected she would do, which was tackle my daughter in a bone crushing hug.

'Wow, hasn't this just been quite a day' Japser laughed, kissing my temple as I sighed.

I had my mother, memories and a lifetime of emotions back.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Did you like how I incorporated Alice's real life story with the whole fae thing. I don't want it to be too unbelievable so let me know what you think please :D P.S. I know that all the breaks are weird but I've decided to use these to portray memory sequences.**


	15. Brutal

Chapter 15: Mal's POV

* * *

><p>So Alice is my aunt, well…great aunt. This really was something, I watched happily as Nancy hugged her granddaughter, my…cousin, once removed? I couldn't be sure. I'd just think of her as a cousin. It was nice to see Nancy so full of life, not that she was usually miserable, she was a very bouncy person, but she had always had a kind of sadness in her eyes that we never asked about. I had known it had something to do with her daughter but never pushed her on the details, assuming it was painful. I could definitely see the resemblance between them. They were both petite and pixie like, with the same perfect features and colouring, though Alice's eyes were golden from her vampire diet.<p>

Wait, gold…blue, violet, brown, green…none of these people made sense. Half of the family appeared to be normal vampires while the others were completely bizarre. The Nessie girl had a heartbeat…that man she was with smelt like a shifter. I looked next to me and studied Elsie, she was absolutely stunning as her violet eyes flickered towards me as I studied her before I heard a gentle cough break through my thoughts.

'I think our guests may have some questions about us' Edward smiled, oh yes…the mind reader I thought and he chuckled. Nancy got up from the hug and went to sit back down next to Alice, taking her hand and grinning at everyone.

'Yes, you simply must tell us everything, I want to know all about my beautiful daughter's life. How do you have children? Do you live with the shifters? You didn't work for the Volturi did you?' she asked disapprovingly.

'Okay Nancy, one question at a time' Carlisle chuckled, as Nancy bounced up and down in her seat.

'First of all, our children were possible because of Eric, a friend of ours' he explained, 'he's not here right now because his wife is heavily pregnant and is on bed rest. Anyway, his gift is to physically manipulate people's bodies, he altered my wife's, Alice's, Rose's and Bella's bodies to allow for them to conceive. Male vampires can already conceive, in fact, we were quite shocked to find that a human female can carry a half vampire child. That is how Nessie, Nelle and Nahuel here were born' he said, gesturing to Nessie and willowy dark haired woman as well as a tall dark skinned man who was sitting next to a brunette vampire woman.

'So Maddy, Elsie, Zack, Finn and Jay are full vampires while Nessie, Nelle and Nahuel are half?' Lil asked and they nodded.

'What about the human mother of the half vampire?' I asked, I couldn't smell any humans in the house, though there had been one here recently.

'Sadly, they died in the case of me and my half-sister' the tall dark skinned man, Nahuel answered, 'the birth is very violent and fatal to the mother, our father was a twisted vampire; he liked to create new breeds of vampire and cared little for the humans he sacrificed to get there' he sighed.

'I was lucky enough to have Edward with me though; he changed me after I gave birth to Renesmee' the woman, Bella smiled, squeezing her husband's hand.

'So how old are you all?' Nancy asked, I figured Carlisle was probably the oldest out of everyone as he was the leader.

'Well I am three hundred and seventy six' answered Carlisle before looking to his family and gesturing to each of them, 'my wife Esme is one hundred and twenty one, sorry honey, I know what women are like with ages' he chuckled and she rolled her eyes.

'I'm one hundred and fifteen' Edward smiled before pointing to his wife, 'Bella is twenty five, she was turned when she was eighteen, or nineteen according to Alice' he grinned and Bella growled softly.

'Nope, eighteen, I am not a cougar!' she sniffed and everyone laughed.

'I'm one hundred and one and so is my Emmy bear' the tall blonde, Rose, grinned, patting him on the cheek.

'And I'm one hundred and seventy two and my little pixie here is one hundred and fifteen' the scarred male smiled softly, I had initially been frightened by his scars but when he looked at Alice he looked so soft it was hard to be scared of him, though I would still avoid getting on his bad side.

'We're a different matter though' Nessie smiled, she then explained about how they grew rapidly until they matured, though they were only technically all under the age of ten. It was strange, but then again I was a freaking fairy so who was I to judge? We settled into an interesting conversation, exchanging information about gifts and our lives, how the shifters had started off seeing the Cullens as enemies before they had fought side by side against common enemies, eventually becoming friends.

'Wait…hold up!' I almost yelled, causing everyone to stop talking. 'You're the coven that took out the Volturi and now rule the vampire world?' I asked, something that they had said had clicked in my mind and I felt a whole new wave of bewilderment settle over me. They seemed so calm and friendly, they must be fierce if you pissed them off.

'Yeah!' Emmett grinned, 'of course we would have lost if it wasn't for me!' he laughed, flexing his muscles as Elsie rolled her eyes.

'My dad's an idiot, from what I hear it was a group effort' she smiled and everyone nodded.

'Na-uh, I was fearless, nothing scares me' he smiled triumphantly.

'I'm afraid not brother' Alice laughed, running off and coming back with a large object in her hands. ' I had Esme give me the film from the other night and decided this would be a lovely addition to the living room' she smirked, hanging the mystery picture up over the mantel before whipping the cloth off to reveal a large blown up photo of the muscled Emmett, frozen in fear and covered in some form of green paint. His eyes were comically large and obviously full of pain and dread as he backed away from an unseen monster and the whole family burst into laughter as Emmett grumbled embarrassingly.

'Bella, shield it!' Alice called before Emmett jumped up to rip the image off the wall, only to be met by an invisible barrier as his family continued laughing.

'What is it?' Lil asked, leaning against Finn as she tried to regain her breath, I noticed he didn't seem to mind the contact at all.

They then went on to explain in detail how Jay's human girlfriend had decided to take her revenge against Emmett for dying her skin green during a water fight, explaining how they had put on a production of pretending to be killed off by Eve as a fictional all powerful slayer and how Emmett had been literally quaking in his boots thanks to a large dose of fear from Jasper to help him along. I couldn't help but laugh hysterically with them as they described how the human girl had literally been carried through the air as if she were flying and had 'taken out' the entire family.

'Oh yeah, I got something for you' Elsie whispered, people had either gone off to bed or were busy chatting. Esme had been showing Nancy photographs of the family and Alice for the past half hour while my sister had disappeared somewhere.

'Should I be worried?' I asked as she dragged me outside, she rolled her eyes and led me into a large building that lay separated from the house and I felt my eyes widen as we entered through a side door. Holy shit.

We were in a large cavernous room that was almost big enough to be a second house; there were cars, motorbikes…was that a Viper? I was completely gob smacked as I took in the sight, there must be millions of dollars' worth of vehicles here, these vampires were definitely living the sweet life; though I supposed you were bound to accumulate a lot after several hundred years of life so it was understandable. She led me into a room that split off from the main garage; it appeared to be a work shop of sorts with a large desk in the centre that was scattered with various pieces of machinery that I couldn't even recognise while hundreds of plans and schematics dotted the walls.

'Here we go' she grinned, opening a large metal drawer and heaving out a heavy looking metal object, it was about a quarter of the size of her and vaguely looked like an engine, though I couldn't be sure because it was like no other I had seen.

'What is it?' I asked and she rolled her eyes at me like I was an idiot.

'It's for your motorbike of course. You're basically driving a piece of crap on wheels and I got bored last night, you know…no sleep and all, so I whipped this together' she shrugged and I raised my eyebrow at her.

'You _whipped_ it together, what is it, a cookie?' I chuckled.

'It was no big, you're welcome by the way' she huffed, placing it on the work bench, 'it's my gift, I'm a…technophile' she smiled proudly.

'A what?' I asked.

'You know, like _Forge _from the X-Men comics you moron' she laughed, rolling her eyes, 'I instinctually know how anything mechanical works, allowing me to alter or create pretty much anything' she explained.

'So you're like a super mechanic' I grinned and she sighed.

'If you want to dumb it down then yes' she chuckled. 'Just bring your bike by at any point and I'll fix it up, save you from breaking down like some damsel in distress' she laughed.

'Hey, I'm not a girl' I bristled and she narrowed her violet eyes at me.

'Says the person who arrived skipping like a little princess with a pair off sparkly fairy wings strapped onto his back' she muttered, knowing I could hear her.

'I'm a man dammit' I argued and she burst into peals of laughter again.

'Great, now maybe you could stomp your foot as well princess' she smiled, getting up into my face and I became acutely aware of how close she was, her scent was intoxicating, like sandalwood and roses as it swarmed around me. 'What, no witty retort' she grinned, her beautiful eyes sparkling with amusement, 'thought as much, so you agree…you're a big girl' she smirked and I was getting fed up of being seen as anything less than a man, so what if I was a fairy.

'How's this for a girl' I grinned before grabbing her and crushing my lips down onto hers, I wasn't usually the type to be so aggressive but something about this chick just sent my blood boiling. I'd only had a sparce few girlfriends and they'd always been so dull and boring that I hadn't even bothered to go further than kissing them, this girl made me want to lock myself away in a tower somewhere with her for the next ten years.

I felt her stiffen slightly before she melted into the kiss, moaning softly as I deepened it and tangled my hand in her soft hair. She was pure beauty and electricity, everything about her from her graceful elegance to no nonsense attitude pulled me towards her in a way that was beyond words and I revelled in the feel of her soft skin as I moved to kiss her neck, taking a much needed breath of air, she gasped slightly at the sensation of my teeth grazing her neck and let out a soft laugh, probably at the reversal of positions we were in, her being a vampire and all. I became acutely aware that someone was approaching and quickly released her, suddenly feeling guilty about my brash actions.

'So uhh yeah, motorbikes and engines and stuff' she murmured, straightening her hair as her mother came in.

'Hey sweetie' she smiled, narrowing her golden eyes at us and trying to hide the smile on her face. 'Elsie, could you go and help you father out?' she asked sweetly and Elsie nodded hesitantly, moving to leave the garage as I followed. Rose held her arm out to stop me and I shot Elsie a panicked look, she mouthed sorry and ran off before leaving me in the hands of a possibly angry mother vampire.

'Uh…it wasn't what it-' I stuttered before Rose held up a hand to silence me.

'Do you know what a mate is to a vampire?' she asked softly, picking up a pair of pliers and twirling them in her hands.

'Yeah, it's like a destined soul mate or something like that. We have the same thing apparently' I shrugged, not knowing where she was going.

'Would you mind telling me why you were just kissing my daughter?' she smiled, her golden eyes hard as steel as she waited for me answer.

'Because I like her?' I asked.

'But you only just met her, doesn't that strike you as odd?' she whispered.

'I don't know; I just couldn't help myself, it's been on my mind since I saw her last week' I shrugged; I couldn't find the ability to lie to this scary woman.

'Let me guess, you feel a pull right, an uncontrollable urge to make her happy and be with her' she smiled, scrutinising me. How did she guess? She must have seen the answer in my eyes because she sighed. 'The only reason you're not my dinner right now is because I have a feeling that not only are you two meant to be together, but also I can sense that she feels the same pull towards you' she smiled and I let out a breath of relief, though my heart was still pounding…more to do with the notion that she was suggesting I had just found my soul mate in her daughter, could that be true? I certainly wouldn't mind at all if it was one like her.

I was about to say something when her hand suddenly shot out and I felt pain blossom to life on my torso, I looked down to see she had the pliers secured very tightly on one of my nipples and I let out a hiss of pain. How did people find this kinky? It just hurt like hell to me….

'If you ever, and I mean _ever, _even think about hurting my daughter in any way…I will rip your junk off and attached them onto the hood of my car before using it to run you over…_repeatedly_. Don't mess it up fairy boy!' she hissed, twisting the pliers for emphasis before letting me go. Now I was scared, especially when her face turned to a smile and she patted me on the cheek softly. 'Now run along, she's in her room…' she chuckled, whistling as she walked out of the garage and back towards the house.

_Oh boy…_

* * *

><p>Elsie POV:<p>

* * *

><p>'Hey, is there a reason why you're so scared of my mom' I asked, breaking away from the kiss and leaning into his side as he walked me towards the school, he had been dropping me off for the past couple of days.<p>

'No, um…I'm just respecting that she's your mother and is therefore protective of you, I don't want to piss off the parents do I?' he murmured and I sighed, rolling my eyes. Knowing my mom, she had probably threatened him in some way but I wouldn't push it, he'd see past her over protectiveness once he got to know her better.

'You picking me up after school?' I asked grinning.

'Yup, though it's kind of strange seeing as I'm technically a pensioner' he chuckled and I rolled my eyes, did he forget that most of my family were well over a hundred years old?

'See you later' I smiled, kissing him quickly before jogging off to join Nessie and Zack who gave me knowing looks.

School was a drag again, I had some fun in Biology with Eve and Finn as we convinced Nelle to change the teacher's notes, she had copied them perfectly in his hand writing, only translating them into Russian instead and we all laughed at his perplexed expression, he must have thought he was going insane. The _crypt keepers,_ as the students called them, were still giving us the creeps, they had threatened Eve on Friday in gym, hinting that if she were to blame them for Lisa's death, she would be the next to go. It annoyed me, Eve was a nice girl and she obviously cared about Lisa who herself was too young to be killed so wastefully. Who did this vampire think she was, playing with people's lives like this?

The crypt keepers disappeared during lunch again, they usually did since they pretended not to require food but Jay got extremely anxious when he noticed that Eve too had disappeared, he rang the hospital to check that she hadn't gone there to visit her mom but couldn't find a trace of her anywhere and we were all becoming increasingly more worried, especially when the crypt keepers didn't return after the bell rang.

'I'm going to look for her' Jay growled and I stood up with him, we had our next lesson together and I didn't really feel like sitting through it while worrying about Eve.

'I'll go with you, two vamps are better than one right' I smiled slightly before following him out of the cafeteria and climbing in his car.

We kept the windows down as we drove along, allowing a gentle breeze to fill the car as we searched for her scent trail. I was glad it was a calm day weather wise, it made it easier to pick up even really faint scents as we drove slowly along the roads. We picked up her trail and sped up, following it down into the worse part of the city as we passed the clean buildings and entered into the more derelict areas of Buffalo. Jay screeched to a halt when we heard yelling and I jumped out the car with him, running silently but agonisingly slowly in case any humans saw.

'You pathetic little human, you think you can follow us!' a voice hissed and I heard a smack and a groan.

'I…know…you…killed her…you…bastard' Eve's voice almost whispered before being cut off by another smack as the smell of blood filled the air and we sped up.

'We told you what would happen if you stuck your nose in but you didn't listen did you, you stupid bitch' a girls voice spat as we rounded the corner, spotting the scene and growling as they spun around.

'Leave my girlfriend alone you freak' Jay growled as he ran towards them, sending the guy who was holding a bloodied Eve crashing against the wall.

'This isn't any of your business human' Hannah hissed, letting go of Eve to round on him as I took advantage of their distraction and ran to her, crouching down to lift her off the ground.

'I've called the police' I yelled, standing up with Eve in my arms, pretending it was an effort though she weighed nothing at all. 'Get out of here now and we won't press charges' I spat, glaring at them. They may not care about people but I was pretty certain that they would care about pissing off their vampire leader if the police got involved, sure enough they narrowed their eyes at us, pacing backwards to pick up their fallen friend from by the wall and dragging him away with them.

'What the hell Elsie? I could have taken them!' Jay growled, he was positively shaking with rage and his green eyes were almost black with barely concealed anger as he glared at me.

'And how would you explain that Jay, you're supposed to be human. Besides, Eve needs help and we can't afford the hassle of dealing with those creeps. We need to get her to Carlisle' I pointed out, at the mention of Eve he immediately snapped out of it, his face becoming pained as he looked at her bruised and bloody skin and scooped her out of my arms.

We drove back to the hospital in silence; Jay sat in the back seat with Eve's head in his lap, murmuring soothing words to her as we sped towards home. I had called Carlisle on the way and he was meeting us there, I could only hope that her wounds were superficial, though she may have concussion because she was almost unconscious in the back seat as Jay tried to keep her awake. We arrived at the house in record time, I didn't even bother to turn the engine off as I flew out of the car, opening the door for Jay and standing back as he streaked past me towards Carlisle's study.

'Put her on the table' he ordered, opening his medical bag, 'Jay leave, Elsie stay' he said, cutting off Jay's protest with pointed look. 'I will need to examine her and that involves a certain degree of exposure I am sure she would not want you to see, you can come back in a few minutes' he whispered and Jay nodded begrudgingly before disappearing out the door.

'Eve? Can you hear me?' he asked in a soft voice, as I gently wiped the dried blood from her face and arms.

'Carlisle?' she groaned, blinking slightly and coughing.

'Yes honey it's me, I need you to tell me where you're hurt' he asked.

'My…side and my wrist…I think' she replied, gasping when Carlisle gently pulled up her shirt to reveal a multitude of bruises and very dangerous looking red clusters on her stomach.

'No ribs broken, I'll have to run a scan for internal bleeding but it appears to be surface wounds' he murmured as he gently ran his hands over her damaged skin. 'Eve, what day of the week is it?' he asked as he shone a small torch into her eyes and began to gently probe her scalp.

'Wednesday you idiot' she mumbled and he let out a small chuckle.

'How many fingers?'

'Four' she huffed before groaning as I helped her change into one of the hospital gowns that Carlisle kept here.

'Okay you have only a mild concussion that should go away, I'll give you some pain killers after I've run some tests to check for internal bleeding and so on' he said in a relieved voice while he cleaned up her face, placing dressings over her cuts and ignoring her wince when he rubbed some salve on her cracked lip.

'Eve! Are you okay?' Jay rushed when he came in, probably having heard an invitation from Carlisle's thoughts.

'I'm fine Jay, stop worrying' she moaned.

'I'll never stop worrying, I should kill those bastards for ever laying a hand on you!' he growled, ignoring her concerned look, 'why did you follow them, you could have been killed! What if they had led you to the vampire, she would have drained you straight away!' he almost yelled, worry swimming in his eyes.

'I'm sorry' she sobbed, immediately softening him as he kissed her temple, 'I just saw them sneaking off and decided to see where they were going, I tripped on a stupid rock and they heard me' she sighed, looking guilty.

'It's okay, just don't ever do it again' he sighed, hugging her gently to his chest. 'You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days'.

'No offence, but you're already dead honey' she laughed weakly, stopping when he saw his still anxious expression. 'I won't do it again…but someone has to stop them' she whispered sadly.

I agreed…they had to be stopped.

* * *

><p>'So it's settled, no more dancing around the issue' Nessie growled, glancing upstairs towards where Jay and Eve were.<p>

'I don't think I can get into their group now though' Finn said anxiously, 'I mean, they beat up my cousin's girlfriend, it wouldn't be realistic to accept entrance into their creepy little club, they'd be suspicious' he sighed and everyone looked thoughtful.

'I could just keep following them until they lead me to the vampire, from what I gather they go to her roughly every two weeks so I could wait until they go again' Nelle suggested and Seth growled.

'Alone? I don't think so!' he hissed, ignoring her glare, 'I'll go with you' he stated and she rolled her eyes.

'I wasn't planning on going alone honey, I was planning on covering whoever else came with me with my invisibility. We know it withstands both mental and physical shields so we needn't worry about whoever this vampire is seeing us coming' she shrugged.

'Then I'm going with you too' Bella added, 'those creeps hurt my son's mate and therefore my son, I can't let them get off scot free after that'.

'Then I'm going as well, I may be able to read this vamps mind even if we can't get a lock on the kids' thoughts' Edward stated, it was pretty much a given that if Bella was going, Edward was.

'What about Eve?' Nessie asked, looking concerned, 'what if they come after her again…or even worse, send the vamp after her or her mom?' she asked.

'I'll stay with Fiona at the hospital to keep watch and make sure she's safe' Esme volunteered and Carlisle gave her a pained look, though he didn't say anything when he saw her determined expression.

'We'll take shifts Esme, I'll help you watch over her' Rose added and Esme nodded.

'Eve is going to want to see her mother later so we can take her down and begin the camp out…how is she doing love?' Esme asked Carlisle who sighed.

'Good, no internal bleeding or permanent damage either mentally or physically. She's basically angry and bruised, she'll have a headache but will be otherwise fine' he smiled slightly and there was collective sigh of relief from everyone.

'So that's settled then' my dad said, cracking his knuckles anticipatorily and grinning slightly, 'we're going to get this bitch'.


	16. White Knight

**A/N: Just a little short chapter for now, had a bit of a hectic year and thought I would have more time to update. I will try to keep the chapters coming but I'll be juggling work, last year of university and occasional writers block so keep your fingers crossed that inspiration will strike.**

Chapter 16: Eve POV

What were the _crypt keepers_ doing? First they corrupt my best friend, then they lead her to her death…that I am sure of, even though she was apparently killed by whatever vampire they've been hanging out with, I knew she wouldn't have been in that position if Ethan and Hannah hadn't taken an interest in her. I somewhat understood why she had left to hang out with them, ever since her sister had died she hadn't been herself, I guessed that being a part of their creepy group was an escape from reality for her and they had taken advantage of that.

Not only did they cause her death but they didn't even appear to be affected by it, in fact, they seemed strangely proud lately, as if they were happy that their vampire bitch had killed her. It sickened me as I watched them laughing about something, walking out towards the gym while everyone headed to lunch. Where were they going? I knew that that route was a popular one for people who wanted to skip classes, it lead to a walkway that trailed off the school grounds and back into the surrounding area, many students would take that path if they decided to skip science in favour of smoking behind the sheds or heading into to town for some during school shopping.

I don't know why exactly I decided to follow them, I knew it was probably a bad decision, but I wasn't exactly planning on coming into contact with the vampire. I was just going to see where they went to meet whoever it was, I knew Nelle wasn't shadowing them today and I didn't want to miss a chance at finding out what they were up to.

I snuck behind them as they walked through the streets; I was quite good at being stealthy when I needed to, my parents use to argue all the time when I was little and I would sneak around upstairs to stop them from hearing me. Plus, my running gave me decent leg muscles so I was able to move fast but carefully as they headed into the worse part of town.

Why were they coming here? It was a shithole and that was putting it nicely. I had always found it strange that only five minutes' walk away from the clean and welcoming university district was a derelict and run down area where homelessness was abundant and the buildings were decayed. I snuck behind them as they trailed through the alley ways, chattering about useless stuff as they went about their task as if Lisa wasn't lying cold and dead in the.

I had been so lost in thought that I didn't notice the rock until it was too late, my left foot twisted on the seemingly unobtrusive stone and made my ankle give out and I cursed as I landed on my knees, grazing them on the rough surface of the alley way concrete. I held my breath when their footsteps paused from around the corner, I couldn't see them so they couldn't see me but I must have made quite a bit of noise falling down because I barely had a chance to get back onto my feet before I was shoved against the wall.

'What do you think you're doing here?' Hannah hissed as she pinned me against the wall. For a human girl she was strong, not vampire strong but still, the malice in her grip was evident as she glared at me.

'Nothing' I wheezed out, finding the words difficult because she was putting quite a bit of pressure on my throat.

'What did we tell you about minding your own business you pathetic little bitch?' Adam spat as I crumpled to the floor after being released. All of my escape routes were blocked and I tried to slide back up the wall, only to have my efforts stopped by a foot in the stomach.

'Did we or did we not tell you to watch yourself human?' Hannah yelled, pulling me by my hair into the alley way.

'You and Lisa are the same, so pathetic and weak' she whispered in my ear before it began ringing from the slap she delivered me.

'Don't talk about Lisa that way, she was a million times better than you' I growled, struggling to get out of their grip as Ethan grabbed my arm.

'No, she was a weak and pathetic human who failed at everything, she couldn't even collect offerings to our master without whining like a little bitch' she laughed bitterly before a loud slap, this time given to her, shut her up.

'Watch your tongue around the human Hannah' Adam spat angrily, having noticed that she may have let something slip, she stepped away from me quickly. Were these people bringing 'offerings' to the vampire, did that mean humans for food or something? That was the only thing that I could imagine a vampire needing.

My thoughts were ruined by another round of hits; someone even scratched me I think, probably Hannah, though my whole body was in pain all over so I could even be sure. I was having a hard time keeping upright as they held me between them, my mind was throbbing from a kick to the head from Jordan, _someone had been watching too many kung-fu movies_.

'You pathetic little human, you think you can follow us!' Ethan hissed before I was punched in the stomach again, forcing all the remaining air out of me.

'I…know…you…killed her…you…bastard' I whispered, still out of breath before being cut off by another punch to the face, this time I was sure my nose must have broken and I could taste blood, though that may have been from my lip which felt like it was split.

'We told you what would happen if you stuck your nose in but you didn't listen did you, you stupid little girl' Hannah spat before I heard growling and hissing. Growling? Was there a dog here or something?

'Leave my girlfriend alone you freak' an angelic voice growled and I felt my heart lift in my chest in response.

'This isn't any of your business human' Hannah hissed, letting me slump to the ground and turning to face them, I was picked up by a pair of cold hands and I could vaguely see blonde through my blurry and swollen eyes.

'I've called the police' she yelled, standing up and lifting me easily into the air. 'Get out of here now and we won't press charges' she spat and I could hear their muttered annoyances as they stalked off, leaving me with who I assumed was Elsie and Jay.

'What the hell Elsie? I could have taken them!' Jay growled, I tried to lift my head to look at him but I was in too much pain.

'And how would you explain that Jay, you're supposed to be human. Besides, Eve needs help and we can't afford the hassle of dealing with those creeps. We need to get her to Carlisle' she argued and I felt myself being transferred into another pair of strong and cold arms, though these ones held so much warmth and I curled into his chest, inhaling his scent and feeling vaguely sorry about getting blood on his shirt through the haze of pain. The last thing I remembered was a pair of beautiful emerald eyes gazing gown at me before everything went grey and confusing.

* * *

><p>'Are you okay to walk?' Jay asked, fluttering around me like some huge bizarre moth as I climbed off the table in Carlisle's office.<p>

'For crying out loud Jay! I'm bruised, not disabled' I huffed, I _was_ a little sore but that was to be expected.

'Sorry, I just don't like seeing you in pain' he sighed, kissing me softly.

'It's okay, I'll be alright. I just going to the hospital with Esme' I smiled, hugging him.

We headed out the door and I kissed him goodbye, ignoring the comments made by Emmett and Finn while they sat in the corner and played video games, muttering to each other under their breath. Jay growled while I just laughed; silly touchy vampire. I was a teenager, I was used to comments and immaturity, though I might have expected different from a house full of vampires...no such luck.

'Are you really feeling okay or is that something you just told Jarret?' Esme smiled as we drove towards the hospital.

'I am a little sore I suppose, my stomach hurts but I know it's not a big deal, I'm more angry at myself for worrying you all, I shouldn't have taken off alone like that, I knew what they were capable of' I sighed as she reached over to squeeze my hand, the other one was currently in a small cast.

'Don't blame yourself honey, in a world of myths and legends we hardly expect humans to be the bad guys, though more often these days that is the case. These kids are under the control of a dangerous vampire, there's no way of knowing _what_ they're capable of. My grandson was just worried about you, he's so much like his father sometimes' she chuckled.

'How so?' I asked, I had seen the physical resemblance but I always thought that Jay's attitude was more like his mom, apart from the whole mind reading thing of course.

'Well don't tell Edward I said this, I will deny it' she grinned, 'but he is…for lack of a better term…a drama queen' she sighed and I couldn't help but laugh. 'No I'm serious, the amount of times he broke his own heart in the belief it was best for Bella was ridiculous, he had so little faith in himself. Thankfully Bella has seemed to knock him out of it to some extent, but Jay is sort of similar in the way that he worries so much' she smiled as we pulled up at the hospital.

'So you're saying that I should expect a lot of over protectiveness? He doesn't seem to be that bad to me' I murmured as she locked the car.

'Yes and no' she chuckled, 'we tend to be naturally protective of our mates and loved ones' she sighed, there it was again…_mate_, I was still having a hard time believing that I was the destined other half to Jay for eternity, one person couldn't be _that_ lucky could they? Most people spent their entire adult lives searching for what I had basically had the good fortune to bump into, it was surreal.

'But where my son tends to…not enforce so much as get carried away in his protectiveness, Jay keeps it to himself, but trust me, he's still just as insanely protective of you' she sighed.

'It sounds like a man thing to me' I laughed as we headed up towards my mom's room.

'I suppose, though us girls can be quite the lionesses, have you ever wondered why no one dares to touch Alice's wardrobe? Emmett once thought it would be funny to throw her summer dresses into a lake, let's just say he was looking for his arm for quite a while' she said, rolling his eyes.

'His arm? What did she do?' I gasped.

'Oh don't worry, as you can see he's fine now. Once we lose a limb we can reattach it, though it stings quite a bit' she sighed and I blinked, I was _not_ getting on Alice's bad side any time soon. I followed behind Esme into the hospital room, my mom was sitting up in bed and doing a crossword; she was getting a lot less weak now, though she was still technically…dying. They had stopped the extensive treatments because they wouldn't work so she no longer had the weakness and nausea that went with them.

'Hello Esme, what brings you to the hood?' she smiled and I rolled my eyes at her.

'Oh let's just say I'm your babysitter' she chuckled but my mom was busy eying me anxiously.

'What happened sweetie?' she gasped, taking in my bruised face and the cast on my arm worriedly.

'Calm down mom, I'm okay' I sighed, sitting down, 'Carlisle patched me up' I smiled.

'Who did it? Did you see your father?' she asked and I blinked in confusion, my father? I haven't seen him for years, why would she think I'd seen him? Unless she reckoned I would attack him if I saw him again and get into a brawl…though I probably would after he just left us like that.

'No…mom, what's he got to do with this?' I asked and she shrugged evasively, 'to answer your question I ran into some less than savoury characters downtown, luckily Jay and Elsie got there in time' I smiled.

'Oh…well, be careful in future dear. I know your boyfriend is a vampire and everything but I think even the Cullens can't be everywhere at once' she sighed, gently touching my swollen cheek.

'Yeah I know' I grumbled rolling my eyes, 'I learnt my mistake. How are you though?' I asked and she chuckled.

'I'm good, bored…nervous…hungry' she chuckled, 'I've been trying to mentally prepare myself for the change. Just how painful is it Esme?' she asked and Esme sighed.

'I'm not going to lie to you Fiona, it's the most painful and excruciating experience you will ever go through in your life. It makes childbirth feel like a walk in the park' she explained and my mom winced.

'It'll be worth it though, to be with you when you grow up…get married…' she trailed off, wriggling her eyebrows at me.

'Mom I've only just started dating him' I groaned and she and Esme laughed.

'Don't fight it honey, you two as far gone as I can imagine' she smiled, winking at me as I rolled my eyes, _parents_!

We were interrupted by a knock on the door, I looked up to see who it was, probably Carlisle or something though he usually would just come in when he knew we were all in here. I glanced at my mom to see if she was expecting anyone but she just shrugged and sighed, pushing herself up into a more comfortable position.

'Come in' she called and the door opened. The sight there made her gasp and grip onto my hand with more force than I would have thought her capable of in her condition, I looked back at the doorway and felt my blood ignite with the fire of hatred as I saw the familiar dark eyes of someone I never wanted to see again.

'You!' I growled.


End file.
